Who Said Life Was Simple?
by GoldenGardenFoxes
Summary: Prequel to What I Learned At Genkai's Temple. PLEASE READ. Summary...well, three girls are just trying to get through high school. Sounds simple, right? Wrong. Sorry, this isn't a good summary...Disclaimer as always!
1. Chapter 1

**Who Said Life Was Simple?**

Exams were drawing to a close. Kit nervously tapped the end of her #2 pencil on the desk, racking her brains, trying to search her mind for the correct answer to this difficult question she was stuck on. Finally, it occurred to her, and she raced to bubble in the corresponding circle before time ran out.

She let out a sigh of relief. Normally, she sped through tests, even with checking her responses. This time, however, she'd cut it pretty dang close. The teacher announced the completion of the exam just as Kit flipped over her paper.

Kit tried to remain calm, but doubts and worries filled her mind as the answer, scrap, and graph sheets (footnote 1) were collected. She had to admit, though, it was a relief that this thing was over. Once that bell rang, she'd be free of homework, projects, exams, quizzes, and studying for a full two-and-a-half months!

She spent the rest of the time thinking about the end of class, when she'd meet up with one of her best friends in the entire world, Kai, and pondering over what they could do with the crap-load of time they had. Forget required reading, summer was for fun!

Kai was Kit's polar opposite when it came to fashion. Where Kit liked to dress "cutesy" style, this girl simply loved to show off her hard-core attitude with punk-like clothing. Otherwise, they were so alike, one would almost think they were sisters. They were around the same age, same size, clothing-compatible (footnote 2), and liked pretty much the same things.

I know what you're thinking. Sounds like the perfect friendship, right? But what's the catch? Bet they fight all the time, huh? Wrong. In the entire five years the two had known each other, there had only been two major arguments, which were settled in close to a few days.

Most of the class jumped in surprise when the final bell rang, late as always. They recovered quickly and grabbed what few things they had decided to carry to school with them, dashing out of the room and ready for the beach, camping, and all that good, fun stuff!

Kit was no exception. She waved to her instructor, said some good-byes, passed out a few hugs, and shoved her way to Kai's locker. She couldn't help comparing the cramped hallway to a can of sardines.

"I know," Kai sympathized, snatching her jacket off of a hook and slamming the locker door for the last time for another couple of months. "Get used to pushing people outta your way. Two years don't go by fast, contrary to popular belief."

She demonstrated as she made her way to the other side of the hall, Kit closely following.

"Maybe next year, they'll wisen up and give us lockers on the right side of the hallway," Kit hoped.

Kai let out a small snort. "Keep dreaming. The school system can't do nothing right. At least they can't screw things over even worse." (footnote 3)

"Wanna bet?" Kit opposed, struggling to keep up with her friend. "They already messed up the scheduling for next year, remember? They've got to go over 'em again. Just watch," she added, "they'll still be screwed up when we get 'em, like, a week before school starts. I halfway feel sorry for the counselors who have to deal with all of this."

"I hate counselors," Kai mumbled. The brunette roughly thrust open the doors to the back terrace. Kids were crowded everywhere, getting in a few conversations before they had to rush to the bus parking lot just down the steps.

"So what do you wanna do this weekend?" Kit changed the subject.

"I don't know. There's nowhere to hang out, ya dummy," Kai reminded the blonde, stopping and scanning the asphalt for a clear path to her bus, the one towards the far end. "Our mall sucks (footnote 4); the roller rink leaves much to be desired; there's no skate parks; there's hardly even a park, and that one's for little kids…What is there to do besides chill with the Goths at Books-A-Million?" (5)

"True. But we have a movie theatre, and there's always the next towns over," Kit suggested. After a moment of silence, one more bell sounded, the signal for '5 minutes until bus exit'.

"We'll figure something out," Kai promised hastily, knowing that if she didn't get to her bus soon, it would leave without her.

"We say that every week and look what happens," Kit joked. She, too, was anxious to leave. She wanted to get to her special seat on the bus before that piece of crud, Josh, got to it. Man, she hated that boy…

"I'll…try to call you later," Kai said, then began to get going.

"We say that all the time, too!" Kit called out teasingly. She didn't hesitate, however, to board 235. (6)

"Hey!" greeted Stephen, the boy that normally sat across from Kit, as she slipped into her spot and hurriedly placed her backpack in the window side.

"Wuzzup?" she returned, propping her knees up on the seat back in front of her.

"The usual," he replied, "the ceiling, some clouds, the sun…you know."

Kit smiled, then turned to stare out of the window. Josh strolled down the aisle, winking at her as he passed. He even blew her a kiss. Kit wanted to puke.

Stephen was cool, she thought. He was nice, respectful, and had some rather good jokes. He wasn't exactly the hottest best-seller on the shelf, or smartest, but at least he knew it and accepted it. That was so unlike Josh, who was hideous and conceited. He thought every girl in the school wanted to date him, when in reality, they all wanted to run and hide.

'Honestly. I go to the Military Ball with him because he was the only option, and he thinks we're a couple now,' she thought, frustrated. (7). She was aware that Stephen, who also had a crush on her, was staring at her. She also knew that he wanted to talk, but she wasn't really in the mood for discussion.

The bus finally arrived at her stop, and she got off carefully. She succeeded in not falling, and loudly celebrated for the bus.

"Yes!" she cheered. "A whole year, and I didn't trip off the bus once! Yay!"

She could hear laughter coming from the remaining riders as the yellow vehicle she wouldn't see again until August pulled away and drove around the curve. She stayed in the driveway for a little bit longer, staring at the bare road, somewhat sad that school was out.

Just as she was getting ready to turn and walk into the house, she heard a voice behind her.

"Hello, there."

* * *

Kohari: Okay, so the focus was on Kit for this one, mainly because I'm the one that wrote this part. I promise, we'll get to seeDaphne in the next one. Oh, yeah. Not all of the girls know each other just yet. And there are MANY surprises in store, I can guarantee! 

(1) Why do they always pass out a GRAPH sheet for every exam? For example, when, exactly, are you gonna use it for an English test?

(2) "Clothing-compatible" is a term we can all guess, I'm sure, but I'll explain it anyway. Basically, Kit and Kai could wear each others' clothes if they wanted to, which does happen.

(3) Yes, I know Kai used a double negative, but y'all knew what she was saying, right?

(4) The mall in our town really DOES suck! It's only one story high, and has just enough stores to keep it in business. It's not even filled up the one story it's got!

(5) I should point out that I have absolutely NOTHING against Goths. They just hang out at our BAM, so I put it in there.

(6) No, that is not my bus number. Or any of my friends' bus numbers either. I just made it up. So if you ride Bus 235, good for you!

(7) I know people aren't going to understand this, so here's the explanation. The Military Ball is a dance where you can only go if you're in ROTC or have a, quote unquote, "date" who is. Kit is not in ROTC; Josh is. Josh was willing to pay the way, Kit was broke. Kit couldn't find anyone else to take her in time. Do the math. I may explain that whole thing in a later chapter.

NOTE: This particular chapter IS copyrighted. Original version coming soon to fictionpress.

Kohari: Hope you guys really enjoyed that chapter. Another is on the way! Remember to review now…! Seriously, we want 6 reviews by the end of chapter 2, is that clear (More would be nice, hinthint.)? 'Cause I know you wanna read what's going to happen to Kit, and there's really no point in posting that satisfying chapter unless people are ACTUALLY READING!


	2. Chapter 2

**Who Said Life Was Simple?**

Slytherinprincess15- Ummmm to reviewers 4 chappie 1... Kohari will address your reviews in chapter 3 as chappie 1 was pretty much written by her. Okay on with the chapter!

'**_blah blah blah'_ thoughts**

Daphne watched the clock as it slowly ticked closer to 3:00. She was already finished with her history exam; the only person not finished was the class nerd, William. Not that she had a problem with nerds in general but when they have to check their answers five damn times, it's a bit much. Geez, it's not like the damn exam was hard. She started twirling a strand of her long platinum blondehair around her finger and daydreaming about the summer. Suddenly she felt her phone vibrate, breaking her outta of her daydream. She pulled it out of her pocket and, keeping it hidden, she flipped it open to see the text message one of her best friends Kirei had sent her. 'Could he take any longer? I just wanna leave!'

Daphne smirked and rolled her silvery-blue eyes at her friend's dramatics as she text messaged her back. 'I know! How many times does he have to check his answers? I can't wait to get the hell outta here!'

'Yes! He's done! 2 and a half months FREE!'

'Yeah, as soon as the damn bell rings'

Finally the bell rings, ending Daphne and Kirei's little phone conversation.

"It's about damn time it rings and ends this torture!" said Daphne dramatically as she grabbed her CD player and waited for Kirei to catch up with her.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I swear if he's in any of my classes next year; I'll go crazy," Kirei replied rolling her green eyes and waving at the teacher.

"Tell you about what?" asked a male voice.

"With the other end of the conversation being Daphne, she probably said something like; 'It's about damn time'," said another male voice jokingly.

Daphne turned around to see two more of her best friends, Blake and Jesse. She knew a lot of girls hated her and Kirei for the fact that the two guys always hung out with them. But who could blame all the girls; Blake and Jesse were two of the hottest guys at the school.

"Wow Blake! You never told us you were psychic," she joked back as she opened her theatre arts teacher, Mrs. Kent's (footnote 1), door to say good-bye to her and to check her exam grade.

"Yeah Blake, we're your best friends and you didn't even bother telling us about this," said Kirei laughing at his confused face.

"I would have told you…if I had known it myself that is." he said back still looking kind of confused about it.

"Bye Mrs. Kent, have a great summer," called Daphne as she waved good-bye to her favorite teacher and the only teacher she'd actually behave in her class.

"Bye Daphne, have a wonderful summer." Mrs. Kent called back.

"Did you hear any of the conversation while you were saying good-bye and all that good stuff?" asked Jesse as they started walking again.

"Yeah I heard every word. Oh and the reason you didn't know about it Blake is because even though you aren't blonde, you act it," she said while pushing the doors to the bus parking lot open and walking out.

"Hey! That's not nice Daph!" he complained.

"Who the hell ever said I was nice?" she asked looking at him and rolling her eyes.

"Yeah we all know she's the bad girl of our school," another group of girls said as they passed by them.

Daphne smirked when she heard this knowing that everyone knew her as a bad girl. She loved that everyone knew not to mess with her or one of her friends. That's one of the first lessons that all the new kids learned when they came to the high school.

"Yeah and it's so not fair. She breaks the dress code and other rules all the time and not one teacher ever gets on her case about it. Take her outfit today for example. Yet when I try and wear something like she does, I get sent home." said Kirei glaring at Daphne's smirking face.

"I can't help it if the teachers like me Kirei. It isn't my fault. I swear!" Daphne replied knowing that Kirei wasn't really mad at her about it.

"I know it isn't your fault. The only reason they like you so much is because you pass your classes with flying colors. If you didn't, they wouldn't like you so dang much."

"I can't help it. I'm not going to act like an idiot because I'm not one," Daphne said looking at Blake pointedly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"And no one's asking you to Daphne," interrupted Jesse quickly, knowing that Kirei and Daphne could go at it for hours at a time.

"Shit, thanks for bringing me back to the present Jesse. I gotta run; Jack (footnote 2) will leave me here if I don't get on the bus soon." Daphne said.

"Yeah I gotta run too,"

"See you guys later," Daphne called to them as she took off towards bus # 129. She just managed to get on before her bus driver, Jack, pulled out of the parking lot, "Hey Jack, trying to leave me on the last day of school now?"

"Not gonna happen Daphne, your mom would kill me," he replied laughing.

Daphne laughed as well as she sat down in her seat. She put on her headphones and settled in to listen to her Green Day CD (footnote 3). When she got home she immediately jumped of the bus and yelled, "Free at last!" She then said bye to Jack and waved to her friends on the bus as it went down the road. She started walking up to the house but stopped to play with her kitten, Moonshadow, and her brother's puppy, Lance, for a few minutes as they ran up to her begging for attention. "You two are so pathetic, you know that?" she said smiling at them. They just looked at her and then ran into the house. She laughed softly and began to follow them but suddenly she saw something green moving out of the corner of her eye. She whirled around to find absolutely nothing. There was nothing there. **_'Damn it's only the first day of summer break and I'm already imagining things.'_** She looked again to make sure but this time there was something green on the driveway. She went over to it and saw a very small green lizard. **_'It was just a lizard. Girl your imagination is running wild.'_** She shook her head at herself and walked inside the house not realizing that she was being watched.

* * *

Okay…a few notes about the chapter. 

1) Mrs. Kent actually is the name of my theatre artsteacher and she is my favorite teacher.

2) My bus driver's name is Jack and that's what he tells us to call him….not Mr. or anything like that. Ain't he cool? Oh yeah and bus # 129 is my bus number.

3) I had to put Green Day in here somewhere…they are 1 of my favorite bands!

* * *

Slytherinprincess15- Hope y'all liked this chapter. Now remember to review….please? Y'all do remember that we want 6 reviews before we post chappie three right? Okay I'll stop talking and let y'all get to reviewing…I hope. Bye! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Who Said Life Was Simple?**

Kohari: Wow. Didn't think we'd make it this far, even though this and its 'sequel' are my pride and joy. What about you, Jacqie?...Jacqie?

Jacqie: -not there-

Kohari: -to herself- She disappeared again...-sigh-

* * *

"Hello, there." The voice was low, but deep, and bore a strong resemblance to a hiss. 

Kit twirled around as fast as she could to see who had spoken. Her eyes were wide with fright, and she grasped her backpack as though it could provide support.

There was nothing there.

Kit stared at the spot behind her, her brow wrinkled in confusion. She shook it off. "Girl, you are hearing things," she told herself. She hiked down the driveway and climbed the steps, twisting the key in the lock so she could go in and call Kai as soon as possible.

"Kai?" she checked when someone had picked up.

"Nah," came the sarcastic retort. "It's Santa Clause. You interrupted me makin' out with the Tooth Fairy…Seriously, Kit, whatcha want?"

"I'm bored."

"What kind?" Kai joked.

"2 by 4," Kit responded back. "Just kidding. Obviously. Anyways, what's up with you? 'Cause there ain't much going on here."

"It's probably as lively as a funeral here," Kai answered.

"Well, let's go hang out. I mean, school's out. Come on," Kit suggested.

"Where at? I'm broke, ya dumb cracker!"

"I dunno. That kinda limits our options," Kit admitted.

"Look, just come on over and we'll walk to the library or something. Ain't nothing better to do, anyway."

"Point taken."

* * *

"Did you check to see what you made on your exams?" Kit asked as she and Kai stuck close to the ditch, walking along the side of the road. 

"Nope," came the nonchalant reply as Kai flipped off yet another driver. This one stared for a second and nearly lost control. Kai burst into laughter, clearly amused by the swerving car.

"You know, you scare me sometimes…" Kit shook her head and commented as another driver was once again distracted at the wheel by a middle finger aimed from the brunette.

"Only sometimes?" Kai wondered. "Man, what am I doing wrong?"

"I dunno," Kit played along. This time, a woman honked angrily from a car that Kai had just flicked the birdie at.

They reached the library and headed straight to the young adult section. Kit made sure that her cell phone was on vibrate. Kai didn't even bother to turn hers off. It didn't have any minutes, anyway.

Kai browsed through the Sci-fi books while Kit looked through graphic novels. The preppy one picked up one of the newest arrivals. She flipped through some of the pages, trying to decide whether she wanted to read it or not.

"Yo," someone said to her right. She glanced over at a black-haired boy in a white tee and blue jeans. He had the air of a hoodlum and had his hands in his pockets like he was annoyed.

"Uh, yo?" she replied, silently questioning why this person was talking to her, and then went back to what she was doing.

"Are you Kit?" he went on, even though she was ignoring him.

She turned to him again. "Um, who are you, why do you know that, and what do you want?" Kit asked him, freaked out. She took a step back, unconsciously. Was he some kind of stalker? She looked around for Kai, but couldn't see her because of the tall shelves filled with books.

:--Meanwhile…--:

"Uh, Kai?" a retarded-sounding voice inquired uncertainly.

"Who are you?" Kai countered, examining this ugly carrot-top that looked like he had the brains of a squirrel. He was clad in a blue uniform that couldn't be from America, exposing his arms and revealing multiple bruises. There was also a gauze pad bandaged to his cheek.

"Uh, Kuwabara. I kinda need you to come with me for - ." He didn't get to finish his sentence. Kit's voice rose above the quiet of the library.

"No way, pervert!" The statement was followed by a yelp of pain and a command by the librarian to keep it quiet. Soon after, Kit ran past Kai, grabbing her arm and half-dragging her out of the library.

"Dang it!" Yusuke complained, hopping over to where Kuwabara stood and grabbing his hurt shin. "Why do we always have to do things the hard way?"

* * *

The two girls stopped only when they were quite a way away from the library. They grasped their knees as they tried to regain their breath, talking in between pants. 

"Who were those two?" Kit managed, plopping down on the cool grass wearily.

"Dunno," was Kai's response. Before they could discuss it further, however, they saw two figures approaching in the distance from the direction they'd come from. "Move it!"

They ran into the woods that they happened to be nearby. Kit turned around to check their pursuers' progress, but found Kai missing. She gasped just as an arm reached out and pulled her into a shrub at her feet. Kai slapped her palm onto Kit's mouth to prevent her from screaming. Soon, footsteps were heard rustling through the leaves close to them.

"Wherrrrre'd thosssse bratsssss goooo?" hissed a tall, green thing as it slunk down the path, sticking out and waving its long, forked tongue. It was wrinkled and reptilian and smelled of rotting flesh. Its glowing red slits that they supposed were eyes hunted around for its targets, who crouched lower to the ground.

"Yoooou losssssst 'em," blamed another as it caught up to his partner. Its three-toed clawed feet were just inches from the girls' disgusted and appalled faces.

"Urgh. Whatttt are we gonna tellllll the bosssssss?" the first snake-creature pondered as they walked on. "He'sssssss not gonna likkkkke thisssss…"

Kit and Kai stared at each other with fright. They waited until the creatures were long gone before taking off to the latter's house.

* * *

Kohari: Alright. I finally pried Jacqie away from the phone. 

Jacqie: -muttering, arms crossed- Dumb blonde.

Kohari: Man, why do you gotta talk to your dang ex for, anyway?...Jacqie?

Jacqie: -has snuck off-

Kohari: -sigh- Review, please while I unglue her from the telephone...

NOTE: The GGFs do have a summer service where if you want us to e-mail you every time we update this story (or "What I Learned At Genkai's Temple"), we will do so immediately. Just ask. This way, you don't have to go through that Author Alert thing, where it e-mails you every time an author does anything with a story, be it adding a new story or adding a new chapter. Thank you. Now, press that gorgeously purple button right down there...yeah...there ya go. Review! (And don't forget to check out slytherinprincess15 and Kohari's individual works...-winkwink-)


	4. Chapter 4

**Who Said Life was Simple?**

**Chapter 4**

"Are you serious? Mom, please tell me that I don't have to go. You know how much I hate preps. And Cassie's a cheerleader; my least favorite type of people," Daphne whined as she played with Moonshadow.

"Yeah Mom, let Daph stay here. She can take care of herself while we're gone," interrupted Daphne's 12 year old brother, Mark, as he came out of the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn and two sodas.

"See, even the twerp agrees with me Mom," Daphne said while grabbing a Sprite from her brother and affectionately ruffling his hair.

"Well, I don't know Daphne. I was kind of hoping that this could be a family thing," her mom, Yvonne, replied raking a hand through her blonde hair.

"Family thing? Get real Mom. Don't tell me that you don't know that your dear sister, our Aunt Karen, has despised Daph since the little incident with the snake." Daphne smirked in remembrance of that occasion. It was one of the best memories she had of her beloved (not!) Aunt Karen.

"What snake incident?" inquired Yvonne suspiciously, not really sure that she wanted to know.

"The one where Karen found a snake in her bed; that was coincidently the same night that Cassie found two spiders in hers. You really should have seen their faces Mom. It was hilarious!"

Yvonne couldn't resist laughing when she imagined Karen and Cassie's reactions. "Alright Daphne, you can stay here…"

"Yes! This rules!" Daphne exclaimed high-fiving Mark.

"_IF_ you promise to behave. We'll be gone all summer and I don't want anything bad happening while we're gone."

"I swear I won't blow up the house Mom," Daphne replied settling back on the couch while Mark turned Pirates of the Caribbean on.

"We're leaving first thing in the morning Mark."

* * *

Daphne was standing on the porch watching her Mom pull out of the driveway when all of the sudden Yvonne hopped out of the car and ran up to the porch where Daphne promptly handed her purse to her. "Gosh Mom, you are so scatterbrained sometimes." 

"Thanks a million Daphne. Now you know my cell phone number and…"

"Karen's home phone. Yeah Mom, I got it covered. Stop worrying about me. I'll be fine. Now get going, it's a long drive."

"Okay. I'll see you in a couple months sweetheart."

"Bye Mom"

Daphne watched and waved as her Mom pulled out of the driveway. She waited until she was out of sight and then ran inside to call Kirei and tell her the news. When she called Kirei, all she got was a busy signal. **_Shoot! Guess I'll try again later._**

She walked upstairs to get a book to read. She chose one randomly and walked downstairs again. Just as she was about to plop down on the couch the phone rang. She sat through about three rings before she decided that she might as well answer it, "Yo? ... Kirei, oh I have the COOLEST news… Oh really, what's your news? … You're leaving? … And you're gonna be gone all summer? … Hawaii? …Oh well, I hope ya have fun… never mind, my news isn't so important now… uh huh…okay later." Daphne hung up the phone with a frown on her face. **_Damn! This completely sucks. Kirei's going on a family vacation. Blake will probably go with her since they're dating now and Jesse… that's it! I can hang out with Jesse. Wait, no I can't. His parent's are taking him on a European tour. Now I have absolutely nobody to hang out with this summer. I might as well walk downtown and go shopping or something. _**With that final thought Daphne grabbed her house keys and some money out of her purse and left the house. When she got there, she changed her mind about shopping and instead walked over to a bookshop and bought one of the books on her summer reading list, The Count of Monte Cristo.

She bought it and headed to the park for some peace, quiet, and relaxation. She chose her usual spot beside the pond and underneath the oak tree where she had carved hers and some old boyfriend's names into the trunk a long time ago. She had just gotten into the book when she noticed a shadow fall across the pages of her book. She glanced up, and seeing nothing, whipped around, trying to figure out what had just happened. All she perceived was a green figure rushing to get behind a tree and a hiss. She leaned to see what it was, but could make out nothing, and dismissed it as a figment of her imagination. It hadn't been but a few minutes before she realized that something stood in front of her.

She reluctantly looked up to see two boys standing right there. The first was a red-headed guy with the most gorgeous emerald eyes, and beside him stood a boy with spiky black hair that had a white starburst and wine-red eyes. **_Whoa! Talk about a hottie,_** she thought as she looked at the second boy.

The red-haired one spoke up first, "Daphne?" **_What the hell? Are they stalkers or something?_** "Daphne, we apologize in advance for anything we must do but we're going to have to insist that you come with us."

"At this statement Daphne burst out laughing. Closing her book and standing up she looked at the two boys for a second and then said, "That's not gonna happen. You two obviously don't know much about me if you think that I'd willingly go with two freaks like you."

"Well, I guess that means we'll just have to force you," spoke up the short one of the pair.

"Where'd you two freaks come from? The mental institution? There's no way in hell I'm going anywhere with you!" While she yelled this at them she was anxiously looking around for some way to get away from them. She notices the fact that they are standing right in front of the pond and an idea popped into her head. She smiles sweetly, "Actually, I'm a little curious. What do you need me for?" she asked while edging closer to the edge of the pond.

"We need you to come with us. That's all you need to know," said the shorter one obviously a little annoyed.

"Uhhh, well you see, I couldn't possibly do something like that. Not today anyway. Unless you tell me what's going on."

"You don't need to know all of that. Just know that it is for your safety," said the red haired one calmly since his partner was looking a little pissed off.

"Can I think about it?" she queried.

"Why do you need to think about it?" asked the one she thought was hot. "It's a simple question."

"I really don't think I can tell you today. Why don't I meet you here tomorrow sometime and I'll tell you then." With this statement she pushed both of the boys into to pond and ran off laughing. "I'll meet you boys here tomorrow, if you're ready to tell me what's going on here," she called back to them.

"Now do you see why both of us were sent after her Hiei?" Kurama asked. He didn't get an answer as Hiei was too busy glaring in the direction that Daphne had run in. "Well I guess we better hope that Yusuke and Kuwabara had better luck than us. We'll meet her here tomorrow and hope that she'll come to her senses. If not, we might have to force her to come with us."

* * *

When Daphne looked back behind her, she saw that they hadn't followed her. She breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down to catch her breath. **_Who were those two guys? They really wanted me to go with them. Oh well, maybe they'll tell me why tomorrow._** Suddenly she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She slowly turned around and saw two figures coming after her. She groaned and looked around for a place to escape. She started running towards the forest remembering that there is a shortcut to her house there. When she got into the forest she looked around for a nice, tall, sturdy tree. After she found one, she rapidly climbed it. She covered her nose because the stench was so horrible. She soon found out what was making the stench. It was the same thing she'd seen earlier except this time, there were two of them. The snake-like creatures smelled like rotting flesh. Talk about disgusting. "Wherrrrrre did that brattt gooooo?" hissed one of the creatures as it looked around trying to find Daphne. She stiffened when its eyes landed on the tree she was in. **_please don't see me. please don't see me. _**She chanted in her head. 

"Weeeeee losssst herrrrrr. The bosssss issss going tooooo killlll ussssss," hissed the other one.

"Welllllll weeeee mayyyy as welllll go telllll himmmmmm," said the first one as they slunk away.

Daphne was getting ready to jump on one, surprising them and run, but since they started leaving after that last comment she waited instead. When she was sure those creatures were gone, she jumped out of the tree and ran home. **_Those two guys sure have a lot of explaining to do. Hopefully they'll tell me what the hell those things were and why they are after me. I sure won't mind seeing that second boy again. He was one hell of a hottie!_**

* * *

Slytherinprincess- I do agree with you UK. Ko and I do make a pretty good team. WHEN she's not dragging me away from the phone…lol. So Daphne thinks Hiei's hott. Can't say I disagree! Okay well I hope you liked that chappie and please review y'all!

* * *

Special Note from Kohari: We HIGHLY recommend Ugly Kitten's work. Please read these people's work, OK? Thankies! Now click that little button and review for my good buddy slytherinprincess15! 


	5. Chapter 5

**Who Said Life Was Simple**

Kohari: Sorry for the wait...

Jacqie: Ko had major writer's block.

Kohari: And a lot of stuff I had to get written for my chance at that scholarship.

Jacqie: -about to ask why she's worrying about college but decides she doesn't want to listen to a huge diatribe-

Kohari: I was also on vacation again.

Jacqie: -sigh- Quit making excuses and get on with the fic!

Note: Kai, Kit, and Daphne do not know each other as of yet. Have I already said that? Oh, well. Anyway, if you don't like spoilers, skip ahead if you haven't already. This is the chapter where the two we started out with finally get caught. (Didn't take much, did it?)

* * *

"WhatarewegonnadowhatarewegonnadowhatarewegonnadoWHATAREWEGONNADO?" Kit panicked. She had worn a groove into Kai's floor from where she had been pacing. 

"I DON'T KNOW!" Kai screamed back at her, temporarily startling the jumpy prep into calming down.

"Okay, assess the situation," Kit reasoned with herself. "We've got huge reptiles that talk after us, two weird-looking stalkers, and...and...what else?"

"And a whole summer to avoid getting eaten," Kai finished for her, checking her e-mail on the computer, only halfway listening to Kit. "Check this out. 'Vampire' e-mailed me."

"I didn't think he even knew your e-mail address," commented Kit, walking over to where Kai was sitting at the desk. She read over her friend's shoulder. "Well, we coulda told him that!"

"Isn't it a tad late for him to tell us that someone's after us?" Kai added. Then, she realized something. "Wait...how did he know?"

"OHMIGOD! HE'S ONE O' THE STALKERS!"

"Would ya shut up?" Kai told her rather loudly, rubbing her temples in irritation. "Man, the neighbors aren't gonna sleep a wink with your paranoid little butt spending the night here." (She doesn't get much sleep, anyway.)

"I'm not gonna sleep, either," Kit complained.

"Kit, shut up."

"Shutting up."

"But why would these people be after us?" Kai returned to their original topic. She nervously toyed with the phoenix pendant at her necklace, a habit Kit had rarely seen. It wasn't like her to openly display her anxiety. "And how would Vampire know about this?"

Kit had the urge to point out once again that maybe it was because he was one of the stalkers, but knew better in this situation.

Kai continued her train of thought. "You're right, Kit. He didn't know my e-mail address. Not the one I'm using right now. What worries me is how he got it."

Kit freed her pink cell phone from the confines of her purse and handed it to Kai. "I have his number on speed dial. Press '2' '4' 'Send'."

"I don't even wanna know," Kai told her, doing so.

"I keep it in my phone book in case of emergencies and because he calls and text messages me so much," Kit answered. "And 24 was your e-mail address before I put it in my computer."

Kai silently wondered how an e-mail address could be in a cell's 'phone book', but someone picked up on the other line. "Yo, Vampire?...Hey, wuzzup?...Nothin' much. You?...Yeah, I know...Listen, how in the hell did you get my e-mail address?...Say what?...You're confusing me...Ya know what? Stop. Just tell me how you knew about...Vampire? Vampire! Huh..."

The girl looked curiously at the screen of the portable phone. "Vampire doesn't hang up in the middle ofa conversation. Your cell dropped my call, Kit!"

"But I don't get dropped calls with my cell phone company," Kit protested. "Except that one time when I first got it and I was in that tiny drop zone, and it hasn't happened since 'cause it shares towers."

"Drop zone?" Kai checked. "Someone's been watching too much 'Russian Roulette' (no own)."

"You knew what I meant."

"There must've been some interference. I heard a strange echo kinda thing when I was talking to him, like there was someone else on the line. Someone tapping into the conversation."

"And Vampire can't do a 3-way on his cell anymore. His grandparents made sure of that," Kit informed her.

"I dunno what's up, but I want some answers."

Silence followed for a time. Suddenly, Kit, who was now sitting 'Indian-style' on the carpet, jumped in surprise. "What was that?"

"I dunno. I heard it, too," Kai responded, having heard the rustling in the trees. She tip-toed to the dark window to inspect outside. Nothing.

She glanced at Kit, frowning. "Something's out there. I can feel it."

"I know," Kit replied solemnly. She could feel it as well.

"Let's go check it out," Kai suggested, heading towards the door.

"Are you crazy?" Kit demanded. She followed, not wanting to be left alone. Kai's mother was working the night shift.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" came the retort.

Kit was spared replying. As they stood outside, they heard whispers of "Hush up, you dolt!" in the bushes. Kai placed a finger to her lips as a signal to stay quiet and crept to the bush. Kai tried a sneak attack, but found herself tackling nothing but roots.

A hand came from behind Kit, clamping over her mouth. Kai couldn't even hear her shriek of terror.

She didn't have a chance to, anyway. She was knocked out as she tried to stand.

Kit barely had time for her eyes to widen in surprise. She could sense something invading her mind and did something that even she had never done before. She fainted.

* * *

Kohari: Okay, so it's not quite as detailed or exciting as I had wanted it to be, but oh, well. It was too easy for them. Kai and Kit should've put up more of a fight, but...I didn't feel like writing all that in. And it was short. Deal. They get 'em back. 

Jacqie: So...Kai was knocked out and Hiei made Kit faint?

Kohari: Pretty much. I was gonna have Kurama chloroform her, but I'm savingsomethingsimilarfor an original fictional work.

Jacqie: Anyway, y'all know what to do. That little button down there is just waiting to be clicked.

Kohari: And that box that pops up is in some serious need of typing to spruce it up.

Jacqie: I think you over-shot the 'review' lines.

Kohari: Oh...oh, well. Tootalukers, peeps! And signing out!


	6. Chapter 6

**Who Said Life was Simple?**

**Chapter 4**

**Slytherinprincess15- Okayz, I know it's been FOREVER and trust me, I'm so sorry that y'all have had to wait for so long but I lost all my documents awhile back and then school has been my first focus. But anywayz, enough with the excuses and on with this chapter. Y'all can kill me later, after u read and review, okay?**

* * *

"Oh shit. What the hell do I do now?" Daphne asked Lance and Moonshadow as she paced all around the house. "I could go down to the park and see what those two guys wanted me for BUT what if I run into those…those snake things OR what if the guys force me to go with them. Oh god, now I'm even more confused."

Daphne went into the kitchen and absentmindedly fed Moonshadow and Lance. Walking back into the living room, she threw herself onto the couch and tried to read some more of _The Count of Monte Cristo_. She managed to read about three chapters before her mind jumped back to the problem at hand. "Damnit! Well I guess reading is a bust. Maybe I could go online and see if Jesse, Blake, or Kirei e-mailed me last night." When she got online, she saw that she had no e-mails on any of her screennames, "Well that sucks. You'd think that they would at least be nice enough to send their poor lonely friend an e-mail telling her how much fun they're having and all that good stu—"

Daphne's rant was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. **_"Hello…oh hey mom… yeah, everything's great here…no mom, I haven't blown the house up. Not yet anywayz… ok, ok mom, chill out. I'm just kidding, I'm not that bored, I promise…so, how are y'all doing with darling Aunt Karen and Princess Cassie?...okay then. Tell Mark that he has to do something really meant to Karen and Cassie. And tell him to say it's from me…But mom, it's tradition, we always do something mean to them when we're down there…oh come on mom, are you trying to tell me that some little part of you doesn't want to see the horrified looks on their faces…fine then, put Mark on and I'll tell him…oh you told him…thanks mom…no of course I'm not smirking mom, would I do something like that?...okay then, I'll talk to ya later…love ya too, and tell Mark I love him and good luck…bye mom."_**

Daphne smirked as she hung up the phone, "she knows me too well, I swear." As Daphne turned to go back into the kitchen to get herself something to drink, her attention was drawn by Lance patiently waiting in front of the door. She looked around and saw Moonshadow already settling in for a nap on the couch. "Alright Lance, I'll take you for a walk. Just let me change and grab some stuff for me to do."

She ran upstairs to her room and changed into a pair of black denim short shorts with silver sparkles on them. She chose a blood-red halter-top from her closet and a pair of black sneakers. Then she turned to her jewelry and chose a silver locket to finish off her outfit. She grabbed a backpack and stuffed her laptop, her CD player, a few CDs, her book, and some pens and a notebook into it. She headed downstairs after putting her cellphone and keys into her pocket.

"Alright Lance, let's get your leash on you and then we'll go for that walk." Lance didn't have to be told twice, he could hardly hold still long enough for Daphne to get his leash on before he ran to the door.

Daphne locked the door and then headed towards town with Lance happily leading the way. When they got into town, Daphne debated whether or not she should walk down to the park and sit for awhile. **'Well, I do have a reason to go, Lance and I could rest before heading back to the house. And if I meet those two guys there, it would just be a coincidence right? Yeah, just a coincidence.' **With that thought, she turned down the path to the park. When she got there, she waved to a couple of kids she knew from school and went down to the same tree that she had met the guys at. She plopped down under its branches and pulled out her book again. Lance seemed to have the same idea as Daphne; after getting a drink from the pond, he came back and rested his head on Daphne's lap. She smiled at him and went back to reading. She hadn't even read a page when she was interrupted by Lance's low growling. She looked up and saw two familiar looking guys walking towards her and leaving a trail of drooling girls in their wake.

"Well, well look who decided to show up." She remarked sarcastically as she petted Lance's head soothingly.

"Listen Daphne, you got away from us yesterday, but that cannot be allowed to happen today. You are going to have to co—"

"Come with you? Yeah I know the drill by now. Just tell me something, what the hell are those green serpent thingys and why do they want me?" Daphne has stood up during her question and was now looking at both boys expectantly.

"What! If they have already come after you then we have no time to lose," said the redhead, almost losing his calm demeanor.

"Fine. Just answer me a few questions first." said Daphne glaring daggers at him for trying to order her around.

"Alright then, but try to limit your questions Daphne," replied the redhead after a couple seconds deliberation.

"What the hell are you thinking? We don't have to answer the onna's questions. Let's just knock her uncouncious and take her with us," said the shorter boy with a cold glare in Daphne's direction.

"No. If we can get her to come willingly it will be easier for us to get her back quicker. Now I will answer a few questions for you Daphne," the redhead said ignoring the glare that Hiei sent at him.

"Alright. First, what the hell are your names? Second, why are those green things after me? Third, how can I believe that you aren't in league with them? And fourth, how the hell am I supposed to know that those things won't go after my mom?" Daphne asked her questions and looked at the redhead for the answers because the other one didn't seem to want to talk to her.

"I'm Kurama and the other one is Hiei. The second question we are not allowed to answer for you. Thirdly, we cannot give you any reason to trust us. All we can say is that it is for your own good and that we want to help you. And as for your final question, your mother will be taken care of, I give you my word on that."

"You know, I shouldn't trust either one of you but for some odd reason, I feel as though you truly wish to help me. Alright, I will go willingly. It's not as though I'm doing anything important this summer anyway."

"Good girl. We must leave immediately, before they come after you again."

"Umm, can I drop Lance off at my house first?" Daphne asked after she had put everything back into her backpack.

"I suppose we have to," said Kurama frowning at the delay. Hiei let everyone know that he was displeased at this new plan with a typical grunt.

Daphne started back to her house with Kurama walking alongside her and Hiei a few paces behind them. Hiei was ignoring Daphne completely and was not really paying attention to the conversation taking place in front of him.

"I guess he's still pissed off at me for that little pond incident yesterday huh?" Daphne asked Kurama glancing back at the stoic form of Hiei.

"Yeah, that may be part of why he's ignoring you Daphne but don't worry about it though. He's like this most of the time."

"Oh okay then. Are you pissed off at me Kurama?"

"No, not really. I was a little angry that you had done something like that but it wore off pretty quickly."

"Oh good. I am sorry that I did that but I really wanted to get away from y'all and that was the first thing that came to mind.

When they got to the house, Daphne let Lance in and called her neighbor to ask him to take care of Lance and Moonshadow while she was gone. After she had given the neighbor a spare key, she headed back outside to the where the boys were. When she got there, Hiei quickly and easily knocked her out and picked her up.

"Sorry about that Daphne, but its best that you don't see where we are going until we get there," Kurama said apologetically to her body. Hiei just smirked, glad to have had a chance to get her back for the damn pond incident. "Well, let's get out of here and get her to the temple." They set off, Kurama not looking forward to Daphne when she woke up.

* * *

**Slytherinprincess15- okay so all the girls have been taken now. Wonder what will happen when they meet? Why don't you review and tell us what you think will happen when they meet? The person who guesses it will have the chapter dedicated to them. I know I said you could kill me, but have you reviewed yet?**


	7. Chapter 7

Jacqie: Hey y'all!

Kohari: Sorry for the wait.

Jacqie: Major writer's block plus we started a new semester and English and Geometry honors have been seriously killing me.

Kohari: (Ko had writer's laziness...)

Jacqie: Well, Ko and I are just gonna skip past the briefings. Use your imaginations. We're gonna give you the important details:

* * *

**Who said life was simple?**

**Chapter 7**

Kit awoke to the sound of Kai's shout of "Where the hell are we?" She groaned as she propped herself sleepily up on her elbows.

"And you expect me to know...why?" she challenged.

Kai turned to her in surprise. "Oh. Finally up, huh?"

"Were you talking to yourself in your head and couldn't take it any longer?"

"Yeah."

"That's not healthy."

"What's your problem?"

"Just sobered up," came the little blonde's reply. That was what they said when Kit was serious. Kai sat on the floor, staring out of a window. She was amazed that there were no bars around. What was going on? Weren't they supposed to be prisoners?

"This doesn't look like a prison to me," Kai commented. "It looks more like -."

"OHMIGOD! We're in their house! They took us to their house!" Kit screamed, panicky. "OHMIGOD! They're gonna rape us! I'm too young to lose my virginity!"

"You're a virgin?" Kai repeated, with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah," Kit told her calmly. "Why?"

"That's...unusual in this day and age."

"I know."

"Okay. That's just weird," Kai said. "You start freaking out and then you go right back to a normal conversation like this is a typical day. Are you alright?"

"Duh. They're called mood swings. HELLO!"

"Sometimes Kit, you seriously freak me out." Kai replied shaking her head at her friend's words. Any retort that Kit might have fired back out at Kai was cut off by the sound of the door opening a few people walking in.

"Oh wonderful, you're both awake now," said the only girl as she came to stand in front of Kit and Kai. She was quickly followed by the two guys that they had already had a run in with.

"Uh huh. You noticed. Just who are you people and why did you bring us here?" Kai asked her coldly. Kit was too busy glaring at the 'pervert' from the library to make any comment.

"Oh dear. Well, I'm Yukina and these two are Kuwabara and Yusuke. I can certainly understand that both of you confused as to why you are here," Yukina said softly looking from girl to girl. Kit and Kai just looked at her, both with 'duh' expressions on their face. "Okay then, why don't I tell Koenma to come on in here and explain some things to you," Yukina said smiling at them politely, obviously not phased by their less than nice behavior.

"That won't be necessary Yukina, I'm already here," said the toddler like person as he came through the door.

"Hey! The little toddler can talk?" Kit wondered aloud.

"I am NOT a toddler, thank you," came the retort.

"Hey, believe what you want, brat, just go away, squirt," Kai ordered again. At this, the "child" disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, the toddler had disappeared. In its place stood a tall, handsome teenager, with a similar pacifier in its mouth to the one the child had had. The clothing bore a strong resemblance to that of the disappeared child's as well.

"What the - where'd the kid go?" Kai demanded.

"Um...Kai?" Kit trembled, thinking more clearly than her friend. "I think he IS the kid."

"Say what?" Kai asked. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" After this question, Koenma turned back into his toddler form.

"I trust that you two girls will be willing to listen to reason now?" Kit and Kai looked at each other warily, then looked back at Koenma and nodded. "Good."

Here comes the briefing...

"Spirit World? And what are you - It's prince?" Kai joked, obviously not buying Koenma's explanation.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am."

"Righhhhht..." Kai replied slowly. "I'll play along. So what does Spirit World have to do with us?"

Koenma sighed. "We're not quite sure," he admitted.

"Okay, so what are we doing here?"

"Because there are people after you - people who want to harm you. It has something to do with those pendants around your necks...or so we're told," Koenma tried to explain. The girls finally gave up trying to get any more information out of them and just took the explanation that they had.

"Look, you've had your fun, okay?" a ticked off Kai said. "Now let us go home! I have a date with the arcade and a 'Vampire' to beat at the pinball machines."

"I'm afraid you'll have to cancel that 'date'," Koenma contradicted her, "because you're staying here until we can ensure your safety."

"Oh, hell no."

"Kai, just..." Kit tried to calm her.

"Shut UP, Kit!"

"Kai! Would you just listen to me for one god-damn second?" Kit yelled at her which immediately shut Kai up since Kit rarely cussed, especially at her. "Thank you. Now, for some reason I feel like we should trust these people, besides it's either them or the snake things."

"Yeah I guess you're right Kit. Anyway, are we staying in here or is someone going to show us around?" As they were all a little shocked at the way that Kit could make Kai see reason, the girls were already halfway down the hallway before anyone realized that they were gone.

* * *

On the other side of the temple, Daphne was also hearing an explanation. She was hearing her explanation from Genkai. The other people in the room were Kurama, Kieko, and Botan. However, unlike Kit and Kai, she didn't seem too upset or freaked out by the news. She just seemed to accept it even though to most people it would have sounded ridiculous. 

"So...a buncha bad guys from a world full of demons are after me and I hafta stay here until you and your little detective groupies can kick their butts?" Daphne paraphrased the last five minutes' conversation. Genkai looked surprised but pleased at Daphne's easy acceptance of the reasons for her presence at the temple. After hearing Genkai's response in the affirmative, she asked, "Why?"

"We, as of yet, are not very well-informed as to why they are after you, but we are certain that they will stop at nothing to have you in their possession. One of our ideas is that they are after the pendant that you wear," she answered.

"Okay. Hey, where's the other guy that came to get me and bring me here? The hot one,"

"He's attending to other things at the moment," Kurama replied.

"What other things?"

"I really don't know."

"Oh,...he doesn't like me much, does he?"

"Hiei doesn't like much of anyone. He keeps to himself most of the time," Kurama told her. By this time, he had led her to the door and was holding it open for her.

"I wonder why," Daphne said.

"So do I," Kurama admitted, taking her down the hall to her "dormitory".

Daphne sighed. As though reading her thoughts, Kurama added, "Be patient, Daphne. He'll get used to you in due time."

"Okay...if you say so."

Kurama smiled. Seconds later, Daphne posed another question.

"You guys haven't kidnapped anyone else, have you? Just wondering."

Kurama kept an expression of neutrality as he responded, "No. Of course not." The lie rolled easily off his lips. He then recommenced to show her around the temple.

* * *

_Koenma's Office_ (in darkness to reflect the seriousness of the situation) 

"Are you sure you understand, Yusuke?"

"Yeah, yeah. 'Under no circumstances are the girls ever to meet.' I get it," Yusuke echoed Koenma's previous sentence with an attitude of boredom added in.

"Those pendants cannot fall into enemy hands, Yusuke!" Koenma tried to get that through Yusuke's thick skull.

"Then why do we need the girls? Why don't we just take the necklaces and send them home?"

"There is a reason for that. They are the only ones who can handle the power of those pendants. I don't know why, but we're close to finding out. In the meantime, do NOT allow the girls out of your sight for a second. If we were to lose them and they got into enemy hands, there's no telling what evil could be done with them."

"Yeah, and you think their parents aren't going to notice that they're missing?"

"Their mothers have received letters and confirmation that they're away at a summer boarding school."

"Whatever. I'm hungry," Yusuke replied, waving as he left. Koenma sighed when the door was shut. This promised hell.

* * *

Well, given the fact that all three girls are in the same place and the only things keeping them from meeting was Yusuke and sometimes the other guys, there were bound to be some close calls. 

(Close call 1)

Kit and Kai were in the process of being shown around the temple. Yusuke had been 'volunteered' to show the girls around the temple. He was constantly being peppered by questions about life at the temple by the girls and had stopped paying attention about 20 questions ago. He wasn't really even paying attention to what they were doing, just following them and somewhat pretending to show them what everything was. The girls were basically in charge of the tour which really wasn't too smart of an idea on Yusuke's part, but of course he really didn't notice what was going on.

Suddenly the girls turned a corner at about the same time that Daphne and Kurama were heading back into the temple from an enlightening walk in the forest (not THAT kind of enlightening...). Luckily it was Kit and Kai who weren't paying attention, as they were asking Yusuke yet another question. Yusuke, however, had looked up just in time to see Daphne and Kurama in front of them. He quickly grabbed both of the girls led them the other way, rambling quickly about this fight he had had at school.

(Close call 2)

Daphne and Kurama had made it a daily habit to go for a walk together and talk. It was probably the only thing that Daphne truly enjoyed. She was too distracted to read the books Kurama shared with her, and she hated temple chores with a passion. She thought Kurama was the only one in the temple who understood her. He was also the sole person, besides Genkai, that she didn't feel she should look down upon. Rather, she looked up to him, like a big brother. Genkai - she was just plain to be respected.

As Daphne and Kurama were entering the temple and removing their shoes, Kit walked into the room and then crossed to the pantry door. Kurama's eyes widened involuntarily. Daphne stood and looked at Kurama, who immediately recovered and appeared as though nothing out of the ordinary were going on. His mind was racing to find a way to get the two apart before one turned around and saw the other.

"You know, I think Yukina was hoping you would help her shine the statues in the lower shrine," he commented. Kit thought he was talking to Yusuke or one of the boys; she had heard two pairs of footsteps enter. Also, the lower shrine wasn't part of her duties. Before Daphne could say anything, Kurama led her into the western wing. The second Daphne had gone out of her line of sight, Kit turned and went on her way to the North wing, clutching just what she had been looking for.

(Close call 3)

Daphne-

"So you're Yusuke, you're Kuwabara, you're Kurama, you're...Hiei..." she pointed them all out, stopping at Hiei because of the intense negative aura he was giving off, "you're Koenma, hey, you're Yukina, Genkai...and Botan...is that all?"

"Yes," they all responded simultaneously.

"Okay..." she muttered, weirded out by their reaction.

A blond-haired girl walked into the kitchen and began to search the cabinets as Yusuke began to tell about all the fights he had had at school (with Kuwabara interjecting occasionally to object and 'correct'). Daphne's back was to Kit luckily, and the guys sighed with relief. Until Daphne commented that the salt was missing from the table and offered to go and get it. This was as Kit was leaving (she didn't hear a word).

"Wait!" Yusuke cried out to Daphne when she stood. In the second that she hesitated, Kit had already gone.

"Never mind," Yusuke rushed. Daphne gave him a concerned 'you-need-to-check-into-a-mental-home' look as she took her place where Kit had been.

* * *

Needless to say, Koenma was NOT happy about all of these close encounters. "YUSUKE! How many times must I explain to you that the girls are NEVER to meet?" 

While Koenma was ranting and yelling at Yusuke as well as occasional rebukes towards the others, all of them had forgotten about the girls. They were being left to their own devices while the 'meeting' was going on. Uh-oh.

The so-called meeting was interrupted by the sounds of a couple of teenage girls trading insults. Kurama looked at everyone else in the room and ran towards the door, quickly followed by the others.

When they got outside, they saw Daphne and Kit standing a few feet away from each, yelling insults. "YUSUKE! They were supposed to be kept apart! Do you ever listen to anything besides your stomach?"

* * *

Jacqie: Yay! Another chapter done! Hope y'all like this one and don't forget to hit the pretty button below. 

Kohari: Oh, and after you review, can you guys do me a BIG favor? I want y'all to go to my account and check out "Escapade" for me. Nobody's reviewing it...pretty please w/ a cherry and Cool Whip on top (No own)? Just read a little bit of it and review for me?

Jacqie: Okayz, go review Escapade, AFTER u review this one tho.

Later y'all


	8. Chapter 8

**Who Said Life Was Simple**

Kohari: Well, looks like I'm up. Don't forget about "What I Learned At Genkai's Temple", by the way. I mean, it sorta was the start for this one, even if it is the sequel...the sequel to the prequel? Whatevs. The sequel came first, but all this happened...just forget it. Y'all know what I'm trying to say.

Jacqie: Yes, they get it. Now let's begin this thing before we get flamed for your long rants about nothingness preventing them from reading the actual story!

Kohari: Okies! (The storyline of "WhoSaid" came before the storyline of "WhatLearned", but "WhatLearned" was 'published' prior to "WhoSaid".)

Jacqie: Ko!

Kohari: Alright, alright...Jeez...

* * *

Note: Keep in mind that Kit has a MAJOR crush on Hiei. 

"Uh-oh!" The guys rushed out to see Daphne and Kit screaming at the top of their lungs at one another.

"Oh, crap," Yusuke cursed himself. This meant a LOT of trouble for him later...

"Girls, what's going on?" Kurama demanded, concerned for all involved. Kai was doing nothing about the whole situation.

The two fighters (Daph and Kit) turned. The boys were assembled in a sort of line, and they shouted at Hiei, "Who's SHE?", pointing at one another.

"Oh, dear," Koenma muttered to himself.

"Koenma, yoo got sum 'splanin to do!" Kai told Jr. in a Hispanic accent (Footnote 1).

"I don't know where the hell you come from, but you need to go home, little girl!" Kit advised. Kai hardly ever heard Kit cuss. She was serious.

"Excuse me, little? Look who's talkin', TINY! And for now, this is my home! I was invited here, thank you! So you leave!" Daphne replied.

"Can't. We were kidnapped here, so there!"

'Kidnapped?' Daphne thought, but she wasn't about to be outdone. "What gives you the right to talk to me like that? Who the hell do you think you are, anyway?" Daphne shouted at Kit.

"Kinda rude not to give your own name first!" Kit retorted.

"Daphne, not that it's any of your business."

"Name's Kit. But you can call me your worst nightmare!"

"No, I can call you a bitch!"

"Takes one to know one."

"You know it, bitch!" By now, the two were so close, that one could swear that their noses were touching. Death glares with intensity that even Hiei could never accomplish were thrown at each other at point-blank range.

Realizing that this had already gone far enough, Kurama and Kai both stepped in to stop the two from hurting one another. Kai pulled Kit away saying, "She's not worth it." Kurama gripped Daphne and dragged her from Kit, telling Daph to calm down. Their efforts were fruitless. The two still struggled to get at each other.

"You've got some nerve..." Daphne observed.

"Look in a mirror, honey!" Kit advised. "And take time to see how pathetic you are. You don't have any chance with him, girl!"

"My chances are slim, yes, but not as nonexistant as yours!"

Kit flipped her off in reply and with a "That's it!" the two ripped from the grasp of their friends and attacked one another.

Daphne dived straight for Kit's hair, but Kit went right for Daphne's face with her long nails. Daphne pulled out of the way, worried for her face, and missed her chance at grabbing a lock of Kit's flowing blond strands. Kit pounced on Daphne, bringing her to the ground. Daphne then used her momentum to flip her over. They rolled over a few times, each trying to dominate the other, but ending up overpowered, then overpowering again. Finally, Kit threw Daphne off of her. Daphne rebounded, and before Kit could react, she managed to get a punch in before Kit whipped out her leg to trip her up. They continued this way for some minutes before Koenma found himself able to react, shocked at the girls' determination.

"Hiei! This is your fault! Why aren't you doing something about this?"

"Because it was amusing," Hiei answered, as though it were one of the most obvious thing in the world. He sighed. "But amusing does have its limits." His Jagan began to glow, and the next thing either girl knew, they were picked up off of the ground and flung in opposite directions into a trees.

"OW!" they cried out in pain simultaneously.

"Satisfied, Koenma?" Hiei asked, then went back inside, leaving the others to deal with the two injured girls.

* * *

Later that night... 

Koenma sighed. He had given up twenty minutes ago trying to get a word of explanation in with Kit and Kai both yelling at him about Daphne. Kurama was having the same problem with Daphne. Hiei just stayed out of it. Those girls were the ones that liked him - how was that his fault? He lay on the bed in his room, eyes closed. This was all ridiculous.

Kit and Kai finally returned to their dorm. Needless to say, they were still angry. Koenma had done a very bad job of explaining Daphne's existence on the grounds. Then there was the fact OF her existence...

The two of them decided to blame Hiei for all of this. And they would certainly make him pay for it. Together, they began to plot ideas, whisperingpossible plans.

Daphne happened to wander by Kit and Kai's dorm. She was still a bit furious about Kit as well, but she had slightly softened. Kurama had that effect on her. She happened to hear the other girls speaking and listened. The door had been left cracked and she put her ear to it as close as she could without touching it to find out what it was they were talking about.

After a few moments, she found herself unable to stay mad. After all, they were just girls, like her, who were involuntarily playing a part in some whack scheme involving all of humanity, some talented weirdos, and some mysterious snake creeps. It's not like any of them had wanted to be here, regardless of whether or not they minded now. And could she blame Kit? Hiei was hot (in looks), cool (in attitude), and...well, she did feel the same way about him.

A thought came to Daphne's mind. She pushed the door gently open, and leaned in the doorway. Kit and Kai's eyes shifted to the door. The mischevous smirks disappeared from their faces when they saw her, wondering if they should prepare to fight.

"You know, you're missing something," Daphne told them.

Kit and Kai exchanged confused looks. They readied themselves as Daphne reached calmly into her pocket and pulled something out. She opened her palm most of the way to reveal a bottle of..."Red nail polish," Daphne grinned.

All of the girls smiled.

Maybe this alliance would work out just fine.


	9. Chapter 9

**Who Said Life Was Simple**

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"You're all actually getting along?" Kurama asked, quite surprised by the three girls in the same room without one of them trying to kill another (namely the two blondes).

"Yeah," Daphne stated, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We sat down and had a little chat to settle our differences."

"After all, if we're gonna be stuck here together for who knows how long, we might as well be friends," Kit pointed out.

"And we have a lot in common," Kai added, inspecting her nails. "Like the need for a sleeping pill."

"A sleeping pill?" Kurama echoed.

"Yeah. I can _never_ get to sleep in a new place," Kit told him.

"All we do is sit up all night and talk," Kai explained. "And we're _seriously_ running out of stuff to talk about."

"_I_ seriously need some _sleep_!" Kit whined.

"Well, at least you guys have someone to talk to!" Daphne argued. "I'm all by myself in that room, staring at a blank ceiling all night!"

"Alright, girls, I get the point," Kurama interrupted before a fight could erupt. "I'll see what I can do. Come with me."

Confused as to where they were going, Daphne, Kit, and Kai exchanged glances before following the kitsune as he left the room. He led them down stairs to what appeared to be an underground room. Taking a key from one of his pockets, Kurama unlocked the door and turned to the girls.

"You are about to enter a very dangerous area," he informed them. "The chemicals in my lab can be rather unstable, so…_Don't. Touch. Anything_," he warned them, accentuating each syllable so they understood _completely_.

"Okay…" the girls chorused, a tinge of fear in their voices. There was no telling what was in that lab…

"Alright. Let's go," Kurama instructed, seeing that the girls were clear on his rule. He opened the door to reveal six long tables, equally spaced out, each with an array of test tubes filled with liquids in a rainbow of colors. There were also shelves stacked along three of the four walls, touching the ceiling, complete with books and bottles of all sorts. There was another steel door at the opposite end of the room. Kurama began searching these bookshelves for something.

A potted plant rested on a nearby table. Huge magenta petals surrounding a sunny yellow core were too much for Kit to resist. Checking to make sure Kurama was too busy to watch her, she reached out her hand to touch the flower. The petals looked so soft and velvety. She was hypnotized. Just as one of her fingers was a millimeter from the plant, it snapped at her with lightning speed like an animal, as though trying to eat her. Startled, she gasped and withdrew her hand, clutching it to her chest, fearful at the thought of almost losing her fingers.

"I did say not to touch anything," Kurama reminded her, descending a ladder along one of the bookshelves and moving on, having yet to find what he was looking for.

Kit frowned at him. Kai checked out what was behind the other door while her buddy recovered from nearly having her fingers bitten off by a plant. She saw rows upon rows of all types of flora. They hung from the ceiling and rested on tables that stretched along what seemed like half of the temple in a sort of labyrinth. Kai's hand unconsciously began to twist the door handle. She wanted to go inside and investigate.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," Kurama advised, examining a bottle of green-tinted fluid. She turned to him and then back to the door, releasing the door handle, not enthusiastic to repeat Kit's mistake. "Ah. Here it is. Okay, girls, let's go."

He plucked a test tube from Daphne's unsuspecting hand before pushing them all gently out of the lab, locking the door securely behind him.

"And next time I say 'Don't touch anything,' I expect to be obeyed," he concluded, giving the bottle to Daphne.

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"Alright, mission accomplished," Daphne celebrated, tossing the bottle lightly into the air and catching it expertly in her hand, forgetting to worry about what would happen if it were to fall and break.

"Totally smooth," Kai added taking the lead in front of Kit as they headed down the hall. Suddenly, something finally dawned on Daphne and she fell behind. Noticing this, the other two stopped. "You alright, Daph?"

"I just remembered," she told them. "Hiei's a demon, you guys."

"Yeah, so?" Kit asked, not really understanding.

"A B-class demon," Daphne went on. Kit finally got it, but Kai needed a little more explanation.

"We're human, and Kurama gave it to use for human use," Daphne reminded her. "How do we know if this stuff is even gonna work on him?"

"We'll just hafta try it," Kai shrugged off the matter. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

Daphne still had doubts, however. "Have we even thought this through?" she inquired. "I mean, how are we gonna get him to drink this stuff in the first place? It's soooo not obvious it's a potion!" This last part was soaked thoroughly in sarcasm and dripping with it.

Kit got an idea.

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The black-clad apparition could only be seen as a blur, zig-zagging around the clearing. Left and right, wooden targets fell to pieces, too quickly to tell in what order. After a few seconds, all targets had been destroyed. Upon closer observation, one could see that every wooden target was of a humanoid shape and Hiei's sword had dealt each one what would have been, to a human, a lethal blow.

Hiei stopped in the middle, then wiped some sweat from his forehead with his arm. He had spend the majority of the afternoon to beat his record time. He had finally done it. He turned around as Daphne edged closer.

"Um, Hiei?" she called to him timidly.

"What?" he barked, annoyed that she was interrupting his training session.

"That was amazing," she complimented him. "You must have been working hard all afternoon." Seeing that he wasn't going to comment, she asked, "Want some limeade?" She held out a cup filled with a light-green liquid.

"What?"

"Limeade. You know, lemonade, but with limes instead of lemons," Daphne explained. "We were mixing up a batch in the kitchen, and then Genkai told us you were out here training since this morning, so I thought, maybe...you'd like some."

He took the glass from her and drank from it. Truth be told, all of his training had made him thirsty. When he had gulped down the contents of the cup, he handed it back to her and went back to work. Daphne stuck around. Within a few minutes, Hiei was unconscious on the ground.

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Note: Yes, we know how short this is compared to what you were expecting. However, we decided to go ahead and post this while we finished typing up the rest of the story. So, still let us know what you think - and keep a sharp eye out for mistakes!


	10. Chapter 10

**Who Said Life Was Simple**

Daphne dug anxiously through her closet, while Kit and Kai just hung out in her room, waiting. Kai toyed with a yoyo, practicing her tricks as she leaned against a wall near the door, making sure nobody came in. Kit sat on Daphne's bed, getting smacked in the face with a skirt, pair of jeans, or a top, only to throw the articles of clothing into the pile beside the bed.

"Don't _you_ have any dresses, Kit?" Daphne paused to ask, tired of raiding her closet in quest of what seemed to be a "needle in a haystack" kind of item.

Kit replied in the negative, and before they could inquire of Kai, she said, "Nope," proceeding to "walk the dog."

Daphne sighed and resumed her search. Finally, she found what she was looking for ("Aha!") and showed it to the others with a "Tada!" of triumph. Receiving weird looks, she told them, "Don't ask why I have it. It's a long story. My family's really weird."

It was a frilly pink dress that made Kit and Kai's jaws drop in disgust. It had powder-puff sleeves and a ribbon waist with a pouffed out knee-length skirt.

"Hmm…" the girls contemplated in unison. They held it to the unconscious Hiei on the floor to test the look.

"Not really a flattering color on him, is it?" Kit observed.

"Mm-mm," Daphne agreed, then returned to her closet as the other girls exchanged confused glances. "Maybe purple's a better color for him," she explained, relieving the closet of a violet dress almost exactly like the last, but with a longer length to it (reaching the ground), and the ribbon waist had been replaced with lace trim, mostly around the bust area. "Told you they were weird," she added, referring to her family.

"Perfect!" They all agreed, and commenced to costume the apparition, all of them knowing that it would be a bad idea to undress him first (though Daphne wanted to). After his clothes were completely hidden by the ridiculous outfit, each girl retrieved her make-up kit (Kai didn't have much to get), applying different types. Giggling, they dragged their victim back to the clearing and ran like the Dickens, just in case he woke up any second.

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"Again!" Genkai ordered. They had yet to receive any information from Koenma on the pendants. To pass the time, and prepare for any ambushes from anyone who was a step ahead of them, Genkai was putting Yusuke through some grueling training exercises, mainly working on powering up his Spirit Gun.

"Aw, come on!" Yusuke complained. He was exhausted. He had been doing the same thing all day.

It was at that moment that screams of terror echoed through the forest, attracting the attention of pupil and master. They automatically turned towards the sound, and, momentarily, their charges emerged, running as fast as they could in the temple's direction.

Before either Yusuke or his sensei could ask why they were so scared, or even why they were doing the 100-yard dash quicker than he could, they sprinted past them into the temple and slammed the doors.

"What's their problem?" the teen inquired of his master. He didn't have long to find out.

Hiei, red in the face with anger, bolted from amongst the trees, in hot pursuit of the mischievous girls. He halted in front of Yusuke. "Where are they?" he growled.

Yusuke snickered, trying as hard as he could to hold back a laugh. He didn't succeed. Genkai just stared in amazement.

"What?" the furious demon demanded.

Yusuke couldn't stop laughing long enough to explain, so he pointed at Hiei's outfit. He glanced down to see the frilly, lacey dress. He had failed to notice it, too distracted by the fact that Daphne had tricked him into taking some sort of drug.

Hiei ripped off the ridiculous garment and tore it to shreds, as though it would relieve him of his humiliation. He then took off after the girls, even madder than before, if that was possible, with his katana drawn.

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Genkai and Kurama had, of course, saved the girls, who were assembled, along with Hiei, in a line in front of Genkai in the temple's training hall.

"I would have expected better of all of you," a disappointed Genkai lectured them. "Therefore, I think it's best that you, girls, begin training. Obviously, you have too much time on your hands as it stands. And Hiei, you should know better than to try to kill those under your protection, no matter what the circumstances."

"Hn."

"For punishment, you will all do twenty laps around the temple," Genkai continued.

"I'd like to see you make me," Hiei defied her.

"Hiei, you still have make-up on your face," Daphne pointed out timidly, referring to the white foundation (from Kai's Goth stage), pink clown-circle cheeks, sexy red lipstick, and purple eye shadow that reached his eyebrows. He snatched the compact mirror that Kit held out to him and examined the damage. Upon seeing the results of their "skills," he wiped it off as best he could and began to chase them once again, this time outside and around the perimeter of the temple.

"You're not going to stop him?" Kurama checked with Genkai.

"No," Genkai informed him. "They're doing what I told them to do, and as long as they're all busy, I really don't care what occupies their time." As an afterthought, she added, "Make sure he doesn't kill them. I'm going inside. Yusuke needs to keep training."

Kurama nodded as she took her exit, ready to step in should Hiei show signs of true bloodlust.

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Kohari: So we finally got to some of the things mentioned in "What I Learned At Genkai's Temple."

Jacqie: About time, huh? Oh, and we're sorry y'all had to wait so long. We had five reviews by Saturday, but we decided to wait 'til Monday to update because of the server thingy.

Kohari: That way, you could review for us! (And maybe go check out some of Ko's work while you're at it!)

Jacqie: -sigh- You're hopeless.

Kohari: Nothing wrong with a little subliminal messaging.

Jacqie: Whatever. Anyways, review, please!


	11. Chapter 11

**Who Said Life Was Simple**

Note: Super-important note at the end of the chapter - Hey! No peeking (skipping ahead)! It's a surprise until you read the chapter!

* * *

Night fell, and it was as black as onyx outside the temple. Despite that, three girls were wide awake, keeping as quiet as humanly possible, because, after all, they were human. And they had attained super-human pranking skill that they planned to use to its fullest potential.

* * *

Yusuke snorted, deep in a world of unconsciousness. He then rolled over, not awakening to the tiniest sound of girls' footpsteps approaching. 

A feather appeared out of the darkness and was brought closer and closer to his nose. Delicately, it moved back and forth, tickling the Spirit Detective's nose ever so gently. Yusuke's nose twitched, itching. The feather, having frozen, began the process of brushing his nose, which again twitched. It started anew for the third time, finally earning its desired results. Yusuke's hand flew to his face, trying to slap at the nuisance. Shaving cream splattered all over his face. He was now fully awake, and really annoyed at the girls, giggling, cloaked by the night.

Angry and ready to pursue them, Yusuke tried to rise, but found himself unable to do so. The girls had duct-taped him to his bed. He struggled desperately to escape, but failed to catch the girls.

* * *

Kuwabara was the next victim, sleeping peacefully, unaware of the danger lurking just outside his door as the girls got their plan together. Two small lights, just bright enough to see by, entered the room. 

The first guided a hand clutching markers to the red-head. Two sets of hands then chose their weapons, popping the tops off of the markers relatively soundlessly, and the wet tips began to create funky designs on the visage of the idiot.

Meanwhile, the other light rested in front of the wardrobe. Luckily, the sound of the aerosol can releasing shaving cream onto the wooden surface wasn't enough to awaken Kuwabara. Finally, the words "We know your secret..." had been written on the doors.

The lights regrouped and made their way to the bedroom door. Just before reaching it though, they halted, and whispers, like a slight wind, could be heard. One light then left, only to reappear shortly afterward.

One of Kuwabara's hands was placed gently into a bowl of lukewarm water. After a little bit, it was taken out, the bowl taken away, and the door closed, the lights having vanished mysteriously into the dark as quickly as they had appeared.

* * *

Kit went downstairs to put the bowl of water back into the kitchen. Kai went to bed, and Daphne went down the hall a little ways. 

Daphne crept to a door she was particularly eager to open. Glancing back to check that the others were gone, and to see if she still had her backpack full of pranking supplies, she smirked and twisted the knob as slowly as she could so as not to make too much noise. She pressed her weight against the door.

Hiei lay resting his hands behind his head, against the headboard. His eyes were closed, but he was fully dressed. He appeared to be asleep. Daphne took a silent step inside.

"Don't even think about it, Daphne," he barked, without even opening his eyes or making any movement other than to speak.

Meekly, Daphne took her exit, blushing, and closed the door back quietly, as though she could erase what just happened.

* * *

"All done?" Kai asked Daphne as she came in to report. 

"Yup." Daph then realized something, or rather, someone, was missing. "Where's Kit? Shouldn't she be back?"

"I was hoping you would know."

It was at this time that the topic of conversation came in. "Why's everyone staring at me?"

"What took so long?" Daphne and Kai demanded.

"Oh. I just...made a few changes," she told them

"Such as?"

"A little interior decorating," she explained vaguely. Seeing their questioning looks, she added, "I t-p'd Kurama's room."

"Cool!"

"I added some metallic confetti for a more fun effect," Kit added.

The girls high-fived.

"Alrighty, then, I guess we're done for tonight, huh?" Daphne concluded.

"Yup," the others agreed.

"'Night then."

"'Night."

* * *

Note: Happy 17th Birthday to GGF Kohari! Whoo! 

Jacqie: Okay, so tomorrow, September 26 is Ko's birthday. I'd say that's a good excuse to review! Tell us what you thougth about the chapter and don't forget to wish her happy birthday! (Her boyfriend remembered, so y'all should, too!)

Kohari: He's not my boyfriend!

Jacqie: Fine, your future husband then!

Kohari: We don't know that yet!

YYH Gang: Happy Birthday, Ko!

Kohari: Thank you!


	12. Chapter 12

_Who Said Life was Simple?_

_Chapter 12

* * *

_

Note: _blah blah blah_ singing...And by the way, GGF does NOT own the theme song to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" or the show itself. Just wanted to clear that up.

* * *

Daphne was bored, plain and simply bored completely out of her mind. Kit and Kai were obviously bored as well, especially since Kit had gotten bored enough that she had already painted her nails five times in the last few hours (they were running out of nail polish remover) and was in the process of raiding Daphne's stash of nail polishes to find another color to paint them. 

Kai had been practicing her Tai Chi for a while until she got bored with it and had sprawled on the floor in front of the fireplace. She had been drawing random things in her notebook ever since, and she was seriously running out of things to draw.

Daphne had managed to keep herself occupied by texting Jesse, Blake, and Kirei, but now her cell phone battery was dead, and there was truly nothing else to do now. She and Kai were almost bored enough to resort to playing 'I spy' when Kit finally broke the silence after deciding that she liked the shade of pink her nails now were, "So what do you girls want to do now?"

"I dunno. What do you wanna do, Daph?"

"Heck if I know! So what'd do y'all wanna do?" (Daphne)

"I don't care. What do you wanna do, Kai?"

"Don't know, don't really care. So what do you wanna do, Daphne?"

"I dunno. What do you wanna do, Kit?"

The girls had been going like this for almost half an hour when Yusuke walked in to see what they were up to. The girls didn't even pay attention to him when he came in and just continued with the 'game'.

"_Now this is the story all about how my life got flipped turned upside down._ So what do y'all wanna do now?" (Daphne)

"I dunno. What do you wanna do? _And_ _I'd like to take a minute just sit right there I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air._" (Kit)

"No idea. What do YOU wanna do? _In west Philadelphia born and raised; on the playgr__ound is where I spent most of my days; Chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool._" (Kai)

Yusuke was getting quite annoyed at this point. A vein throbbed in his forehead as he crossed his arms, silently steaming.

**"**_And shooting b-ball outside of the school, when a_... Oh hey Yusuke! So what do you wanna do?" Kit finally realized he was there.

"I wanna kick your friggin' asses for pissin' me off!" He then commenced to chase them around the temple. Thankfully for the girls, he wasn't quite as fast as Hiei...

* * *

"Finally...lost him," Kai managed to pant. 

"How many friggin' steps **_are_ **there?" Daphne asked, meaning for it to be a rhetorical question.

"I dunno. Wanna count 'em?" Kit suggested. Daphne and Kai exchanged looks.

"Sure."

They divided up the areas of the temple and went off to count.

* * *

"834...835...836..." Daphne muttered, stepping up with each number. Kurama and Hiei began descending the staircase that she was counting. Noticing that she was counting under her breath, Kurama couldn't resist asking what she was doing. "Counting steps," Daphne shrugged off how weird the situation was. 

"Why?" Hiei barked.

She looked at him like he was stupid. "'Cause they're there. Duh!...837...838..."

Kurama led Hiei downstairs before he could harm Daphne.

* * *

This activity failed to amuse Kai for long. "1,297...Eh, screw this!" It is at this point that she discovers that Genkai has taken everyone but Hiei, Kurama, herself, and the other girls to a far section of the forest to train.

* * *

Daphne was drawn downstairs (after reaching a count of 4,569) by strange hums and vibrations on the stairs. It turned out that the hums and vibrations were just loud dance music. She walked into the living room and saw Kai in the middle of the room dancing with some random people. She broke her way through the crowd and managed to grab Kai's arm and drag her away from the 'dance floor'. "What the hell is this, Kai?" 

"A party, Daph! Can't ya tell? We got the music, the people, the food...unfortunately, there's no booze, but that's alright," Kai said grinning at a couple of people as they passed by.

"Yeah, and what if you get caught? Koenma hasn't really done that much to us for the random pranks that we've been pulling, but I doubt that he'll just sit back and let you get away with throwing a party," the last member of the trio said as she manuveured her way over to her two buddies.

"Oh, hey Kit. Don't worry about it, he's with Genkai and the others at like the other end of the forest to train. The only ones that are still here are us, Kurama, and Hiei," Kai told her as she grabbed a drink off of a nearby table.

"Speaking of a certain kitsune, there he is!" Daphne exclaimed as she saw her red-headed friend come into the room.

"Well, go over there, Daph, and convince him not to make us break it up, pleasepleaseplease," Kai pleaded right before she dragged Kit to the other side of the room where a couple of cuties were hanging out.

Daphne debated with herself for a minute or too on how to convince Kurama to let them keep the party going. She finally decided that she'd just ask him really sweet-like and hope he agreed. With this decided she headed towards Kurama. "Hey Kurama! Awesome party huh?"

"What are you girls thinking?" he questioned.

"Oh, please don't make us break it up, Kurama! I mean come on; me, Kit, and Kai have been trapped here for a while now with absolutely no people to hang out except y'all people here. And honestly, even though y'all rock and all, we're in desperate need of some fun!"

His frowning expression told her she had failed to win him over.

"Besides, it's Kit's birthday," she remembered.

"Is it really, Daphne? Or is this just a plot to convince me to let you get away with this?"

"Of course it is, Kurama! Seriously, would I lie to you?" Daphne questioned sweetly.

"Do you want me to answer that?"

"Probably not. Seriously though, it's not like we're hurting anything or anyone."

"I don't know, Daphne..."

"I'm taking that as a 'yes'. Now, since you're here and everything, you should join in on the fun!" With this said, she started dragging him along with her to the dance floor.

* * *

Note: These will probably never be proof-read. Deal with it. Okay, okay, if something really bugs ya, let us know. Anyways, review!


	13. Chapter 13

**Who Said Life Was Simple?  
Chapter 13**

Notes: Yes, it's been a while. If you have a problem with our super-late updating, before you start flaming us, check out our profile page. And, as always, the disclaimer is in effect.

* * *

Daphne started grooving to the tune of "Pump It," trying to get Kurama to join in. He was really hesitant. The most he would do at first was bob his head to the music, but Daph finally got him to start dancing for real. 

Kit stood in a corner, eyes locked on the sight of Daphe and Kurama dancing together. A pained expression was etched on her face. Kai approached her. "You okay, Kit?"

"No," Kit replied simply, ignoring all further inquiries as to what was wrong with her. She turned away, no longer able to look at Daphne and Kurama. Kai was about to try to talk to her, but then detected Hiei's presence. He was furious. She hurried over to him to convince him to let the party continue.

"Is this your doing?" he demanded immediately.

"Yeeees," Kai admitted slowly, scared of what she knew could possibly happen to her if Hiei got angry enough.

He grabbed her by her shirt collar aggressively and rammed her against a nearby wall. "Listen up, you little bitch. You've been constantly pissing me off ever since you got here, and this time, you've seriously crossed the line. I suggest you get every one of these fuckers out of here NOW or, so help me, you will be in deep shit. Am I making myself clear?"

"I don't think your mama was a glass-maker, but I do understand you perfectly," Kai squeaked, sneaking some of her habitual smart-aleck commentary into her statement.

"Good," Hiei barked, dropping Kai. As soon as she was free of his death-grip, she crawled over to the DJ stand and made the announcement that everyone had to leave. The partyers all groaned in disappointment but did as she said. Daphne, surprised at the sudden halt of the party glanced questioningly at Kurama who only returned the look. Kit was no longer present in the room.

"You know," Kai said to Hiei, approaching him, "you seriously need to go to H-E-double hockeysticks."

"The whole world is going to hell, and I'm driving the bus," Hiei replied, without missing a beat. "Which ring would you liked to be dropped off in?"

"I hear the one with all the ice is nice this time of year," Kai answered sarcastically. "Unlike you."

"'Nice' wasn't in the job description," Hiei snapped.

"You still need to be nicer," Kai told him. "I mean, the Bible says 'be kind one to another.' I, at least, was tryin' to spread the love. How mean are you to stop me doing God's work?"

Hiei glared at her, going over in his mind the many possible methods he could use to punish her, many of which Koenma had forbidden him from doing. Finally, he instructed Kurama to remove Daphne from the room, explaining, "She may not want to see this - what I'm about to do is not for children's eyes."

"Ewww!" Daphne reacted, grossed out by an implied sexual meaning behind his words.

"You're disgusting," Hiei said to her. "No, what I'm planning is far worse. I'm going to re-enact what was done to me upon my birth."

"What happened to him?" Daphne whispered to Kurama as he gently led her away.

"Perhaps another time, Daphne," Kurama evaded the question as they departed.

* * *

"AAAAHHHH! Put me down! Put me down!" Kai screamed, dangling at the top of the main stairway to the temple, saved from falling only my Hiei's grip on her belt. 

"These stairs will represent the 'high ground' that I was flung from," Hiei explained slowly to her in a dark voice. "Each step will nicely replicate the rocks along my lateral path. This was done to me by my own family, my own clan. Perhaps when you reach the bottom, you will understand precisely why 'nice' is not included in my personality."

"I get it! Okay? I get it! I'll shut up now! Don't throw me down the stairs!" Kai pleaded, acting in a manner that had never before been associated with her.

"You'll get it...once you reach the last stair. Fortune watch over you," Hiei smirked, pretended to toss her like a rag doll. She screamed in terror, thinking he had actually done it. She quickly realized that he had not, however. She panted, catching her breath while preparing for her actual fall. Instead, Hiei turned and dropped her on the ground a few feet away from the stairs. Kai heaved a sigh of relief, making a mental note that Hiei's wrath was not desirable in any situation, probably even compared to hell itself.

* * *

"Are you alright?" Daphne asked Kit, concerned. It was still very early, yet Kit was already in bed. Kit's only response was the birdie. "What's wrong? You wanna talk?" 

"No!"

"What is your problem?" Daphne was getting slightly annoyed with Kit's attitude.

"Nothing!" Kit shouted at her, then stomped out of the room, leaving Daphne to wonder what was going on.

* * *

Kit plopped down on one of the kitchen chairs, upset. Although she was steaming mad, sorrow was more dominant. She wiped away quickly the tears that came to her eyes. 

"Kit, is something troubling you?" she heard a majestic voice behind her. She hadn't even heard anyone coming into the room. She whirled around to see Kurama; she was thankful she hadn't been crying.

"Sort of," she answered. "I just...have a lot on my mind right now."

"Would you like to talk about it?" Kurama offered.

"Not really," Kit replied.

"How about a walk?" he suggested. Kit said nothing. He took her hand and helped her to her feet. "Come on. Let's take a walk." Without releasing her hand, he led her outside and towards the woods, hoping that some fresh air would cheer her up.

* * *

Kohari: No, this wasn't a lot compared to how much we should have posted in our absence. But if we get enough reviews, we'll probably be inspired to write some more over spring break. So come on, guys! Make us wanna continue this thing! Review! 


	14. Chapter 14

Who Said Life Was Simple?  
Chapter 14

Kohari: I am so sorry for the really long wait. See, the GGFs broke up, and although we've been working things out, we're still not the perfect team we used to be. In fact, I've pretty much been by myself updating "Return of the Cat", and neither of us can find our notes as to what we were gonna do for the next chapter of "What I Learned at Genkai's Temple". Like I said, all I can say is I'm sorry. Anyways, here's the chapter!

* * *

"I've been noticing lately," Kurama was the first to speak as they traversed the forest paths, "you've been rather...unstable lately. As though something's been wearing on your nerves. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" 

"I'm sure," she replied.

"I can understand," he assured her. "You've been pulled out of the life you've known all your life for a reason that's still unclear to you. You've been thrown into a world that's unfamiliar to you, full of people and customs and rules that you don't understand."

Kit said nothing. She had to admit that much of what he was saying was true - it had taken quite a toll on her at first. But she could hardly contradict him. That would mean telling him the real reason behind her behavior.

"Are you an only child, Kit?" Kurama inquired.

"Yes," Kit answered truthfully, not sure where this was going.

"I thought so."

"How did you know?" It was only after asking this that she realized that that information was probably in Reikai's records.

"It's a logical assumption," he responded. "It best explains the way you've been acting."

"What do you mean?"

"As an only child, you're used to being the center of attention," he began to explain. "Am I correct so far?"

"Yeah."

"That being said, you're out of your element here," Kurama clarified. "You're having to share the spotlight with two other girls, one of which didn't make a good impression on you when you first met."

"I guess that's all true," Kit agreed.

"Of course," Kurama continued, "you didn't exactly make a good impression yourself, but you mended that, I've seen. My point is, I had thought you above these silly shenanigans. I had thought that you wouldn't care for childish pranks like the ones you've been pulling lately."

"I'm really sorry," Kit tried to apologize, but Kurama stopped dead in his tracks, making her halt, too.

"I told you, it's understandable," he forgave her. "I'm not saying I approve, or that it's acceptable. I'm just saying that I see what's motivating you to cause mischief. You're a sensible girl, Kit. Playful and a bit naive, yes, but I can tell that you have sense. Please exercise it a bit more in the future."

"Okay," Kit promised. They started walking again, turning into a path that would take them home.

"Perhaps all of you have gotten the rebelliousness out of your systems by now," Kurama hoped. "You'll need to behave responsibly from now on."

"Why is that?" Kit asked. "I mean, I know, in general, people need to behave responsibly, but is there a particular reason...?"

"Genkai plans to increase your training," Kurama warned her. "She's been very lenient with you, you know."

"Yeah," Kit sighed.

"Whatever happens," Kurama advised her as they reached the temple, "be prepared. Stick to your training, and stay alert. You guard a very important and very powerful item, Kit. If anything were to happen to you..." he trailed off there, leaving her to fill in the blanks. He then bid her good-night and left her to find her own way to her room.

Kit sighed again. She didn't really know what to think or do.

* * *

Kohari: Yes, yes, I know. Super-short. But I plan to get another chapter up within the next week or so. Right now, I'm about to go to the pool with some friends, so I'll go ahead and post this. Please don't be mad at me, anyone.

Note: Not proofread.


	15. Chapter 15

Who Said Life Was Simple?  
Chapter 15

Kohari: Once again, you had to wait a long time for a chapter that may or may not measure up to your expectations. Hopefully, this'll be better than what you've all been getting.

* * *

"Koenma, sir," a feminine voice greeted the ruler from the doorway. 

"Not now, Botan. I'm in the middle of some very important business," Koenma cut her off, wildly stamping papers. "I'm trying to get my father's approval to send some of our top men to spread out and search for those demons after the pendants. We must stop them from destroying the world!"

"But something is always trying to destroy humanity, Koenma sir," George, the ogre, put in. "You'd think they'd give us a break every other week or so..."

"But Lord Koenma," Botan tried to regain Jr's attention. "That's the thing. The pendants are useless!"

"What?" Koenma shouted, halting his panicked stamping.

"We've just received word. It seems that we've been lied to. The necklaces the girls wear have no power," Botan filled him in.

"So this was all some stupid prank?" Koenma asked.

"It appears so," Botan sheepishly agreed.

"Then send the girls home!" the prince commanded. "They've caused enough trouble to us already."

"Yes, sir," Botan obeyed.

* * *

Kit squealed as she lost her balance. Kai and Daphne immediately began simultaneously laughing and asking if she was alright. Kurama, not sure whether to laugh or to sigh, approached her and helped her to her feet. Meanwhile, Hiei and Yusuke continued instructing Daphne and Kai in movements. He held his hand to her lower back to prevent another fall as he told her the best way to distribute her weight. 

"Do you think you have the hang of it now?" he inquired.

"Yeah...I think," Kit said.

"Okay," he smiled at her and let her go, hesitantly. She didn't fall. Proud of herself, Kit smiled back. But neither's eyes left the other's.

"Kurama!" Hiei barked, calling Kurama out of his gaze. "As soon as she has her stance perfected, catch her up to where we are."

"Of course," Kurama replied.

"That won't be necessary," Genkai's voice broke in.

"What?" Yusuke was confused.

"Please explain," Kurama requested. Hiei merely stared at the old psychic, awaiting an answer.

"There is no longer any need to train them," Genkai told them. "Girls, start packing your things. You can go home now."

After a few moments of shock, the Kit, Daphne, and Kai exchanged glances. Finally, Daphne regained her ability to speak, "Wh-What do you mean we can go home? What's going on?"

"You're going home," Genkai repeated herself. "Koenma just sent word. We've all been tricked. Your pendants possess no power worth worrying over."

"So they're not, potentially, the cause of the end of the world?" Yusuke summed up.

"I had no idea that you even knew what 'potentially' meant, Yusuke," Kurama added comic relief to the serious moment.

"Shut up."

"You're sending us home?" Kit brought them back to the original topic.

"Yes," Genkai replied once more.

"Okay." Kit said nothing more. As if in a trance, she turned and walked back towards the temple. A few seconds later, Kai did the same. Then, Daphne, with one last glance at everyone, followed.

"As much as they were bitching when they first got here, you'd think they'd be thrilled," Yusuke commented, referring to the girls' sad faces when they had been told the news. Nobody had any response.

* * *

Kit sighed as she placed the last of her things in her duffle bag. She was really going to miss this place. It had become so much of a home to her, she didn't know how she would readjust to the world she had been pulled from to begin with. 

Luckily, she was alone. Kai had already packed, wanting to get everything over with as soon as possible. Daphne had yet to do anything. Kit supposed she was in denial. If she just waited a little while, it would turn out that they didn't have to leave after all; this "you're going home now" business was just a bad dream.

'But,' Kit told herself, 'in a few days, this whole adventure will probably just have been a passing dream. Oh well,' she sighed again. 'It was fun while it lasted.'

As she finished her thought, there came a knock at the door. A charming voice that had been burned into her memory spoke her name. Automatically, without asking herself whether or not she wanted to answer the door, she went to it and let him in.

"Are you feeling alright, Kit?" Kurama wondered aloud immediately after being let in.

"I will be," she assured him, speaking in a tone devoid of all emotion. She didn't look at him.

"Don't lie to me, Kit," Kurama told her.

Kit was silent for a moment, then faced him. "It's just that...I was kinda hoping to stay a little longer. It was a little sudden is all."

"You don't want to leave," Kurama understood.

"You're a cool guy, Kurama. I had a blast," she concluded, grabbing her stuff. "Good-bye." She started to walk out.

"Kit," he stopped her. "You know, this isn't for ever."

"Yes, it is," she knew, contradicting him. "Good-bye," she repeated, then left before he could say anything else.

* * *

Daphne wandered around the temple, praying that it wasn't true. They couldn't go home. Not yet. She wasn't ready. She didn't want to go home. She wasn't ready to trade in this fun, adventurous life for the dull, boring one she had had at home. She wasn't ready to give up her friends. Mostly, though, she wasn't ready to give up knowing Hiei. 

As though he had been summoned with that thought, she saw him emerge from a room a few feet in front of her. He looked at her with those cold, but beautiful crimson eyes. Many times, she didn't feel like she had to say anything to him, like he knew what she was thinking at any given moment, eliminating the need for spoken words.

"Shouldn't you be packing?" he demanded.

"Probably," she admitted. "But I don't feel like it right now."

"There are a lot of things one must do in life that are undesirable," Hiei reminded her.

"I know," Daphne told him.

"What's your problem?"

Daphne didn't know whether or not she liked that tone he always took when asking questions. That tough tone, like he didn't care one way or the other, but was obligated to speak anyway. She smiled, despite herself.

"What's so funny?"

"You know the best part of anything, Hiei?" Daphne asked of him.

"What?"

"The chase," she replied. "The chase is the best part. The struggle to obtain something you really want. That's the part that's worth living for. Because, in the end, whether you get what you want, or whether you don't, it doesn't matter. Either way, once the chase is over, your life becomes...empty. Colorless. Like it's lost it's meaning. Then you have to find something else to go after. That's what life's built on, isn't it? The chase."

Hiei said nothing.

"Thanks for the memories, Hiei," Daphne ended. "I'm gonna miss the challenge." She then started back towards her room, hoping Kit was no longer there. She wanted to pack in peace.

* * *

Kohari: I hope you all liked it! Review please! That's the only way I'll know what you liked/didn't like.

Note: Not proofread.


	16. Chapter 16

**Who Said Life Was Simple?  
Chapter 16**

Kohari: Yeah, it's been a while since we updated. Hopefully y'all haven't lost interest. Please review. I took time out of my busy schedule to type this up for your entertainment, so the least you could do is say whether ya liked it or ya didn't. Please and thank you.

* * *

The transition back to life before Reikai had been relatively quick. A few hours after coming home, it was as though everything was as it always was. The temple had just been a dream that kept recurring to them over the next few days. 

Kai and Kit spent a lot of time together. Unlike before, however, the two barely spoke. Each was lost in her own thoughts. Kai remembered having a life where all she had to do was what she loved - martial arts. Kit remembered love.

They didn't attempt to contact Daphne, who pretty much just stayed at home, absent-mindedly playing with Moonshadow and Lance as the summer passed. They begged for her attention, unaware that her thoughts were with that apparition that held her heart, wondering what could have been.

Every now and again, any one of them would practice the movements that the Tantei had taught them. But it was always when they were completely and totally alone. When Kai and Kit practiced together, they ended up laughing at their mistakes, and that turned out to be more emotionally painful than they could predict. It was the same with Daphne when Moonshadow and Lance watched her with their questioning stares - she'd laugh and remember the good times, then feel like breaking down.

It was a struggle just to force a smile every day...

It was a week or two before Kai and Kit actually hung out in public. The first place they went was the library. They needed something to take their minds off of their sorrow, but they wanted quiet as opposed to excitement. Books were always perfect for that sort of purpose. Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters were good at keeping a mind happily occupied in Kit's opinion, even if the women did remind her of the happily ever after she wanted but felt she had been denied. Similarly, Daphne immersed herself in novels that she had read over and over again, not caring to go anywhere outside the house unless absolutely necessary.

The memories didn't leave, but at least their lives had regained something of normality. Although those memories consumed them and their time, each day, the memories faded a little more. After several days, Kai could no longer remember Yusuke's face or Genkai's voice. Perhaps in time, everything would become erased enough so that they really could move on. That was what they hoped, anyway.

* * *

Kohari: Sorry this was so short and boring, but I promise there'll be more action in the next chapter. I guarantee it! In fact, I'm starting on it now. So please review! Show some love! Make this worth my while! Thankies much!

Proofread? Nope.


	17. Chapter 17

_**Who Said Life Was Simple?**_

_**Jacqie** – Wow, I wouldn't blame you guys if you've completely given up on Kohari and I. We've been gone so long, it must have seemed as though we'd never update. A lot of stuff has happened which we'll let you guys know about on our profile sometime soon, kay? I'm sure you'd like a chapter instead of my talking. So, on with it. _

* * *

Things were starting to fade from Daphne's memory…she could no longer remember Keiko's voice or some of the harmless pranks that she, Kit, and Kai had pulled. However, the main memories that she wanted to disappear were the ones still completely fresh in her mind…every detail about him still tore at her heart every moment of the day. She had to force herself to think of other things, but his face was never far from her thoughts.

Daphne often wandered about Kit and Kai but never tried to contact them as though talking to them would make everything…real. There'd be no pretending that it was a dream, which she would wake up from soon, that everything would go back to normal. She immersed herself in her favorite novels, novels that she now almost had memorized, but nothing blocked memories for long.

Kit and Kai weren't faring much better…they continued to hang out at the library, also immersing themselves in their favorite stories. While they thought about Daphne, they never wanted to call her, for the same belief that it would make all of the events of the past few weeks seem real.

All of the girls found themselves counting down the days until school started, desperate for something, anything, to keep their minds occupied. Daphne could barely force herself to act excited when Mark told her about the pranks he'd pulled on Karen and Cassie over the summer. Kit resisted the urge to cry every time her mother brought up her "summer school" and Kai just told her parents that she never wanted to talk about it.

Daphne began avoiding the park like the plague, merely because it was the first place she ever laid eyes on Hiei, she started exploring new places to take Lance on his walks. Kit started seeing green-eyed kitsunes everywhere she turned and Kai constantly debated with herself about martial arts lessons, wondering if she could stand the constant reminders of the temple.

Wishing that the rest of the summer could just be skipped over didn't do any good…July came and with it, Daphne's 17th birthday. She dreaded the day, knowing that she'd have to pretend to be happy for all of her friends and family…pretend that she was excited by the gifts she received, knowing the entire time that there was only two things that she really wanted and those were to be back at the temple with Kit and Kai and to have the chance to be in her heart's arms.

Kit couldn't help herself from wondering whether or not Kurama missed her presence…if he even noticed that she was no longer there. She thought that it would make the entire ordeal so much easier to deal with if she knew that they were missing her as much as she was missing them. Unfortunately, no information about them ever reached her, or the other girls', ears. Try as they might, it was as if Genkai's Temple and all of the people that they had met there didn't exist. A part of Kit wished she could believe that it was true…that she had merely dreamed all of this up, but the image of Kurama and the sound of his voice constantly echoing in her mind convinced her that the events of the past few weeks had to be true.

Daphne had begun pouring out her soul on paper, in the form of letters that she never sent. She wrote the letters to all of the people she met. Letters to Kurama, Keiko, Yukina, Yusuke, Genkai, Koenma, and even Kuwabara slowly filled up a shoebox underneath her bed. Yet letters to Hiei rapidly filled a box of their own…writing a letter to Hiei had become an almost daily ritual for Daphne. She read through the letters she wrote on multiple occasions but she had read one particular letter so many times that the words were almost illegible, though it scarcely mattered since she pretty much knew the words by heart.

"_This is ridiculous. I keep writing letters that'll never be sent. God forbid you ever actually read them. But I feel the need to pour my heart out somehow, and what other means do I have?_

_I keep looking for other guys, hoping to drown out your memory. But, while a few catch my eye, none compare to you. They just can't measure up to the how you made me feel. And I hate it._

_What I hate the most is that you didn't even care. Of course you saw that I wanted you. How could you have missed it? Kit and I did have that huge blowout about our respective crushes on you. I never made it a secret, my feelings for you._

_I keep telling myself that these feelings and memories will fade in time. Time does supposedly heal all wounds. Maybe they aren't even real. Maybe it was all just a bad dream…or maybe a dream so far beyond my expectations that I feel the need to grieve now that it's come to an end._

_The worst part is, damnit, I don't want to forget! I don't want to heal! I don't want to forget your face or your voice! My memories of you are all that I have left, and I don't want to lose that…_

_I wonder if Kit's having this much trouble with her feelings for Kurama. I feel bad for saying it, but I hope she is. Then at least, I'm not alone in my pain…_

_I miss you…and I'm freakin' in love with you! How did this happen to me? Why couldn't I fall for Jesse? The nice, sweet, romantic, funny, HUMAN guy that likes me? Out of all the guys in the world, why did I have to fall for you? A cold, distant, mean, heartless demon who has never and will never care for me at all._

_Damnit…I'd do anything for you Hiei. Anything to get just one smile from you…anything to get you to just look at me with something other than annoyance or disgust. _

_I'm all yours; heart and soul, and you don't even want me…_

_You don't see me, do you?_

_~Daphne~_

* * *

Daphne stared at her alarm clock, which read 6:44, waiting for it to turn to 6:45 and start the annoying tone meant to wake her up. She had been awake for about an hour, absorbed in her thoughts. At least school started today, so she would have something to occupy her mind now. Maybe she'd finally be able to start forgetting Hiei. As that thought passed through her mind, the alarm went off, officially telling her that it was time to wake up and get ready. After finishing her daily morning routine and throwing on a pair of black denim shorts, black flip-flops, and a dark blue top, she made her way downstairs for breakfast.

* * *

A hand reached out and felt around the bedside table until finally finding the snooze button on the alarm clock. "Stupid clock…stupid school…stupid kitsune… … …crap," were the first words out of the blonde's mouth as she forced herself to get out of bed. "Oh, thank heaven for the distraction of school. Stupid kitsune needs to get OUT OF MY HEAD!"  
"Kit, honey, are you okay?" called a voice from downstairs.

"Oops," Kit muttered under her breath before telling her Mom that she was fine. She walked downstairs about 45 minutes later to find both her mom and dad at the breakfast table. "Wow, a family breakfast? It's been awhile since we had one of those."

"We've just been worried about you lately Kit, honey. You've been so out of it since you got back from that summer school. We just want to know that you're okay", her mom told her gently.

"Thanks for the concern Mom, but I'm fine. I promise. Now, can we eat please? I don't want to miss my bus and be late on the very first day of school".

* * *

"Come on twerp, let's get going. I have to drop you off before I go to class and I want to talk to Kirei," Daphne said as she put her plate in the dishwasher, "thanks for breakfast Mom, it was great."

"Okay Daph. Bye Mom! Love you!"

"Love you too kids."

Daphne waved as she opened the door to the black '99 Mustang that her mother had gotten her for her birthday. As soon as Mark was buckled into his seat, she pulled out of the driveway, and headed towards Oaken Mount Middle to drop Mark off for his first day of eighth grade.

* * *

"Hi Kit. Seen any redheads lately?" asked Kai as she walked into the hallways of Hidden Oaks High.

"Thanks Kai. That's real helpful," said Kit sarcastically as she glared at her friend.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. So, what classes do you have this semester?"

Kit handed over her schedule without a word and took Kai's to see if they, by some lucky coincidence, had any classes together. "Oh, poor you. You've got Darcy for English. I heard she's a real slave driver. Hey, at least we've got Chemistry together. Maybe we'll be able to blow something up like Daph…"

"Like Daphne did to Kurama's lab Kit? His name isn't that difficult to say. Anyway, you're stuck in Computer Apps 2 with Carson. Ha ha, you'll ace that one Kit."

Kit just laughed in return, pretending that the mention of Kurama's name and Kai's casual treatment of the subject hadn't stung, and waved to Kai as she headed off to homeroom.

* * *

Daphne breathed out a heavy sigh before plastering on a fake smile as she pulled into the parking lot of Oaken Mount High. Getting out of her car, she was automatically bombarded with people talking to her and asking questions. "Hey Daphne, what did you do over summer break?" "Hey chica, love the new car!" "Hey baby, want to go to the Welcome Back Bash with me this weekend?"

Daphne just laughed and said hey to everyone, shot a glare at Jeremy for the baby comment, and then pushed her way through the crowd to meet up with Kirei, Jesse, and Blake at their normal spot. Finally making it to the picnic table on the back terrace, she dropped her stuff down next to Blake, and automatically fell right into conversation with Kirei, as though nothing had changed over the summer. As the day went on, she couldn't help but wonder why everybody was acting like nothing had changed, as though her entire world hadn't fallen apart, before realizing that as far as everyone around her knew, she was the same old Daphne.

* * *

Kit sighed as she stared blankly at the computer screen…class had only started about half an hour ago, and she was already done with the day's assignment. Kai was right, she was probably going to ace this stupid computer class, but unfortunately, no one had mentioned that she was going to be bored out her mind throughout most of it. She sighed again as she moved her mouse over to the paint program's icon and double clicked, but as soon as she had done so, her eyes caught sight of the Internet Explorer icon. Making up her mind rather quickly, she exited the paint program and opened the internet, ready to find something to keep her amused for the next hour. Unfortunately, the school had redone the security on the computers, so she couldn't get into any of her amusement sites. Her eyes flickered up to the internet options bar as she remembered a conversation that she, Kai, and Daphne had one day at the temple.

_**Flashback**_

_"Yeah, I had to take an online class last year since there weren't enough students to sign up for AP US History. It was quite possibly the worst class ever, I swear," Daphne said, in the midst of folding her clothes. _

"_God, I think I'd die if I was stuck in a online class, without any way to amuse myself," Kai said, laughing at her exaggeration. _

"_Oh trust me Kai, I had plenty of entertainment. I had a computer that had the internet on it. It's called myspace, facebook, and random other sites that could keep me occupied," Daphne said as she threw a smirk in Kai's general direction._

"_Wait a second Daph. Your school computers let you go on pages like that?" Kit asked curiously._

_Daphne scoffed before answering, "No way Kit. The school officials aren't stupid. I always used a proxy code…it bypassed the security somehow and let me get on whatever sites I wanted to. I just had to remember to delete the history once I was done."_

_Kit listened absentmindedly as Daphne explained how the proxy code was used to Kai…_

**_End Flashback_**

Kit glanced around the classroom to see if the teacher was looking her direction, and seeing that he was occupied with some book he was reading, she quickly clicked internet options and entered the code that Daphne had given them. Glancing around one more time, she typed in myspace, holding her breath as it loaded the page. She resisted the urge to celebrate when it actually worked, instead typing in her log in information. Checking her messages, she quickly typed a reply to Steven, before moving on to her blog. Opening a new blog, she sneaked one last look around the room, before starting to type rapidly.

_I don't even know why I'm bothering to make this blog private. I mean, I have a tendency to write fictional stories and post them as blogs -- people would just think that this was just another blog. But maybe that's what I'm afraid of. People will believe that its fiction enough that I'll eventually believe it myself. And I don't want that to happen._

_I've thought so many times about trying to, in some way; contact someone - anyone - from that "summer school." The only thing that makes me remember that it's real is Kai - she remembers it too. I don't think she cares so much, though. She doesn't really talk (or probably even really think about it) that much. For her, it was just a passing memory. But for me…it pains me to remember. Every single thing about the temple and our little adventure…I remember it. And it hurts._

_I think of Daphne, of Genkai…but mostly, I think of him. I wish I'd trained with him more. I wish we'd had at least tried to make things work…but at the same time, I know better. If we had tried, if we really had gotten to know each other (and this is all assuming that the feelings were mutual)…it would only have hurt more to leave. _

_It's all better this way, pretending that it all never existed…  
__  
So why does it hurt so badly?_

* * *

Daphne breathed a sigh of relief as the final bell rang, and kids began pouring out of classrooms, passing gossip, as always. "Hey girl, how was theatre?" asked Kirei lightly as she caught up to Daphne.

"Great! I knew it was my favorite class for a reason," Daphne responded as she once again easily fell into conversation with Kirei, laughing and joking as though she was on autopilot, not even fully comprehending when Blake and Jesse joined their conversation.

"Oh yeah, there's a party at Rachelle's house tonight, apparently her parents are out of town for the weekend, we should go," Blake said as they all pushed their way through the crowds onto the back terrace.

"That sounds like a great idea Blake! It's been forever since we all partied together," gushed Kirei, absentmindedly joining her hand with Blake's, not noticing the sudden flash of pain that appeared on Daphne's face.

"So, you game to go Daph?" questioned Jesse with an eager look on his face.

"Hm? Oh sure, why not? Could be fun", Daphne answered flashing a smile at Jesse, missing the knowing glances that Kirei and Blake passed to each other.

"Great! We'll have an absolute blast! I'll tell Rachelle we'll be there," Kirei said happily as she and Blake headed to his car. Daphne waved at all three of her friends before getting into her car and pulling out of the parking lot, remembering at the last minute that she wouldn't have to pick Mark up from school, since Mom had gone out of town this weekend and chosen to take him with her.

* * *

Kai sighed loudly, for the fifth time in the past two minutes, finally prompting Kit to look up from her book to see what was wrong. "I'm sick of the library Kit. Let's walk to the lake or something."

"Kai, you do realize that the lake is about a two hour's walk away, right?" Kit asked, looking at Kai as though she was insane.

"Yeah, I know. But, honestly, I don't care. We've been in the library constantly the last month or so, and I desperately need some exercise. Besides, it's not like we've never done that much walking at once. Remember that time Hiei chased us around –"

"Kai, please! I'll go; I'll go, as long as you promise to not mention anything about our summer activities, okay?"

"Fine. Let's get outta here". Dropping their books off in one of the return carts, they walked out of the library, heading towards Lake McKenzie, a popular hangout spot for high school students in the county.

"You do realize that it's going to be dark by the time we get there, right? We're not going to have any sun to tan, and personally, I don't want to go swimming in that lake at night." Kit mentioned as they stepped onto the side of the highway.

"Who the heck said anything about swimming ya dumb blonde?" Seeing the questioning look that graced Kit's face she elaborated, "I'm not interested in swimming, or God forbid, tanning. I'm sick of moping around the freakin' library wishing we were at the temple with everyone else. You're in such a depressing mood lately Kit and it's driving me crazy. …As unlike me as this may sound, I miss my best friend".

Kit resisted the urge to pull Kai into a hug, knowing that she wouldn't appreciate the gesture, instead flicking off a car going by on the highway. "Okay then, let's have some fun while we can Kai!"

* * *

"Ughh, what do you want now Kirei?" Daphne muttered as her cell-phone started playing Kirei's personal ringtone, "If Today Was Your Last Day" by Nickelback. "Hello?... …. …. … Oh, crap. That thing is tonight, isn't it?" … …. …. …. What time?... …. …. ….Cool. I'll meet you guys at Rachelle's around 8, okay?... …. …. …Yeah…. … …. …Ciao."

Groaning, Daphne pulled herself out of her bed and headed to her closet to discover what cute outfit she'd be wearing tonight. She raced through getting ready, deciding on a faded blue denim skirt, a black corset top, and black sneakers with neon green laces. Realizing that she still had a half hour before she had to head to Rachelle's party, she plopped down on her bed to finish the letter she'd been writing when Kirei had called her. After finishing the letter, she absentmindedly stuffed it in her pocket and grabbed her keys to head to Rachelle's.

"Daphne! You made it!" Jesse exclaimed, pushing his way through the crowd of people.

Daphne laughed as Jesse pulled her into a tight hug, "Of course. I said I would be here, did I not?" She followed Jesse as he led her to the side of the 'dance floor', where Kirei and Blake were dancing. Giving them a wave, she let herself go, dancing with Jesse and any guy that asked, losing herself in the music that pounded around her. After a few hours, she began to feel tired, so she headed upstairs to the bedrooms, knowing that Rachelle wouldn't care if she crashed for an hour or two before heading home. She was out before her head hit the pillow.

A thud, and a quietly uttered "Shit" awoke her later. "Jesse? Is that you?" she questioned lightly.

"Yeah, sorry Daph, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Jesse said as he flipped the light switch. Daphne missed the measuring look that Jesse sent her, unaware that her skirt had ridden up some while she was sleeping. "God, you're beautiful Daphne".

Daph glanced up to thank him for the compliment, only to realize that he was almost right next to her. Startled she jumped back, hitting the headboard. She freaked out when Jesse began to move closer to her, crawling onto the bed. As she began to open her mouth to ask him what he was doing, he slapped his hand over mouth and began to speak.

"Do you have any idea how much you've tortured me the last year or so Daphne? Always flirting with random guys, teasing them with short skirts and tight tops. Especially tonight in that sexy little corset top, dancing all up on every guy around, just like a little slut. You've never bothered to notice how much I want you. You constantly taunt me, and it's killing me. I thought it would be different this year, I thought you'd come back from your summer activities and suddenly see what was standing right in front of you ---" Daphne attempted to interrupt, to try and explain, apologize, but instantly saw red. With an enraged growl, he smacked her, making her head slam into the wall. "Don't you dare interrupt me while I'm talking, you little whore."

Daphne cowered against the wall, terrified, wondering what he was planning to do to her.

"You had some fun this summer didn't you Daphne? Went and found yourself a guy, huh? Didn't think I noticed though, did you? But I did…I noticed the flashes of pain that drifted across your face when Blake and Kirei were holding hands or kissing. I noticed the dreamy look you got sometimes at lunch, and I just knew you were thinking about a guy. Well guess what baby; you had your fun this summer…now it's my turn" Jesse said, chuckling triumphantly as he began unbuckling his belt.

It finally dawned on Daphne what he planned to do to her, and her automatic reaction was to fight, throw punches, claw, anything to get him away from her. For some reason though, her body wouldn't obey her commands as though she was frozen, unable to fight back as Jesse came closer to her, tearing at her top. _What the hell is wrong with me damnit?! Why am I so scared of him? He's not the most intimidating person I've met before…Hiei and Kurama blow him out of the water. Oh my god…he's going to rape me and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm going to have my innocence taken from me by force…. _

That thought, combined with the fact that Jesse had given up on removing her corset and had instead moved down to getting rid of her skirt, finally broke the spell she was under. With a muffled scream, she kicked up, managing to throw him off of her. Taking her chance, she jumped off the bed and ran to the door, only to be slammed against it as Jesse caught up to her. "Where the hell do you think you're going? I haven't had my fun yet," he whispered in her ear as he pushed her against the wall, moving his lips down to to her neck.

_Come on, what would Hiei or Kurama tell me to do? Use the resources available to me...wait a sec, I wonder... _"That's true, you haven't. We can't let you miss out on all the fun, now can we?" she asked, lowering her voice, attempting to make it sound seductive, meanwhile her hand was groping for something that she knew was on the desk.

"I'm so pleased you see it my way baby. It'll be so much easier for you if you just cooperate with me," Jesse smirked as his hand traveled up her leg, other hand once again trying to undo her corset.

Daphne resisted the urge to shiver in disgust as she found what she had been searching for…. Turning around, she gave Jesse what she hoped was a seductive smile, pulling him closer to her. When he was close enough, she leaned in, "You'll have to tell me how much fun this was for you later", she whispered as she slammed a ten pound weight onto his head while simultaneously kneeing him hard in the groin. He immediately slumped to the ground, and she took off.

Ignoring the frantic questions that came her way, she raced down the stairs and to her car, speeding off into the night. All she knew was that she had to get out of that house and away from Jesse before he came after her and it didn't matter which direction she was going as long as it was away, far away.

"My god, I have no idea where I am," she muttered to herself after she'd been driving about four hours nonstop. Pulling up on the side of the road, she turned the car off and dissolved into tears, wishing that someone was there to protect her now....

* * *

"Thanks for getting me out of the library for today Kai. I think we both needed to have some fun," Kit said finishing up the last of the Coke she'd bought at the lake.

"No problem. Just out of curiosity, when's the paranoia gonna start? I mean, we are walking on the side of the highway at like one in the morning, and that's generally something that would freak you out…"

"…Oh my god, you're right! What the hell were we thinking? Scratch that, what were you thinking, dragging me to the lake with you, knowing it would be two in the morning before we got home?! We're going to die…oh my god, we're going to die. Someone is going to stop and kidnap us and we'll never be heard from again!"

Kai hit herself in the head, "I had to go and open my big, fat mouth," she muttered to herself, barely paying attention to Kit's theories about what was going to happen to them. Hearing a car coming, she pulled Kit off the road, where she had been walking, so that she wouldn't get run over.

The car sped past them, going way over the speed limit, Kai observed. She also noticed when it suddenly pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. "Nice car," she absentmindedly mentioned, noticing that it was a '99 Mustang.

"That's great Kai, I'm glad you like it. BUT WHY THE HELL DID IT STOP?!?!"

* * *

"Great, breaking down in tears is totally going to help me find out where the hell I am. God, how could I be so stupid? What would they think of me...." Pulling herself together sounded easy in theory, but it really wasn't. She wiped her eyes, turned the keys in the ignition, and looked in the rearview mirror to make sure that it was safe to pull back onto the highway. Noticing two girls standing on the side of the road, she decided that it might be a good idea to ask them where she was....until she recognized their faces. She quickly pulled the car onto the road and raced down to where the two girls were standing, watching her.

It was easy to see how freaked out they were as she stopped next to them and rolled down her windows. "Get in!" she barked at them.

Both of the girls just stood there in shock, staring at the familiar blonde. "Damnit, what is your problem? Get in the damn car!"

"Daphne?" Kit questioned, her voice shaking.

"No, it's the freakin' Easter Bunny," Daphne replied, sarcasm dripping like acid from every word. "Now get into the freakin' car!!!" The other girls looked at each other before following Daphne's orders and getting in the car.

Daphne took off like a shot, quickly hitting 120 MPH as Kit and Kai grabbed hold of the handles above the doors. "Um, Daph? Where are we going?" Kit asked timidly, trying to keep herself from getting sick.

"Finding them. I don't know about you two, but I can't take it anymore. I can't take the constant dreams, the constant reminders of the temple anymore. And I'm done trying to pretend that it never happened. It happened, and I'm getting back to that temple, somehow, someway. I don't care what it takes"

"Sounds like a perfect plan," Kai replied, answering for both her and Kit.

"So, where do we start?" Kit asked, a sparkle in her eyes that hadn't been there for a while.

* * *

_**Jacqie** – Okay, so obviously this isn't the typical chapter for WhoSaid or WhatLearned, but it was necessary, I promise. It's not really proofread because I just wanted to get the chapter out as soon as possible, so if you guys notice any large mistakes, please let us know. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, even though it wasn't the typical humor-filled one. Review, please, you guys? I know Ko and I have been gone for a while and some of you may have lost interest, but please let us know what you think, kay? _

_Oh yeah, a special dedication for anyone who can point out the major reference in this chapter. *Hint, it comes from "Twilight"*_


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